C.I.E./IR/IE Class 121 Bo-Bo.
Class 121 Bo-Bo.
These 15 locomotives were the first to be bought from America from General Motors in La Grange Illinois.
The locomotives had a single cab and a single tall long narrow hood of American design.
The reason for the order was the sudden demise of the Great Northern Board which lead to the unplanned adoption of steam locomotives from that company.
C.I.E. had a diesel traction policy in place since early 1950s.
These locomotives ordered in 1960 and introduced in 1961, they had GM EMD 8-567CR two stroke engines giving a power output of 950bhp.
From 1984 onwards the engines were replaced by 8-B645E prime movers with a power output of 1100bhp as they became available from withdrawn C.I.E. 201 class locomotives.
In 1986 No125 was fire damaged and cannibalised for spares for other members of the class.
Initially the class had handrails by the steps at the locomotive ends and a handrail high up on the side of the hood, it was later decided to have handrails along the sides of the footplate.
In 1989 the locomotives were fitted with push-pull equipment to work with C.I.E. built Mk 3 carriages one of which at the far end was equipped with a driving cab.
The class were delivered in C.I.E. Silver livery with yellow detailing, the livery was soon changed to Black& Tan with a white band at the top.
Over the years this livery changed to orange with a thick black band (Supertrain livery) then orange with a white stripe above and below the black band.
The final livery saw the addition of dayglow panels at the front and rear of the locos.
No. Series 121-135
Max Speed 75mph
Last withdrawal in 2008
2 have been preserved.
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Class 121 with sound
Decoders come with a sugar cube speaker kit as standard, alternate speakers HERE
Please add postage HERE