The last of a breed: a look at the GNR U Class locos
- Niall Kelly
- Jul 7
- 5 min read
The Great Northern Railway of Ireland U class occupies an interesting place in the story of Irish steam locomotive development, and while at a casual glance may look similar to other GNR classes such as the Q or S type, they hold a special all of their own. Perhaps one of the most aesthetically pleasing of the GNR loco designs, in this article, we shall explore the history of the class and examine why they deserve their place in the history books.
A humble Edwardian 4-4-0?
The story of the U class begins in 1915, when the GNR ordered five 4-4-0s from Beyer Peacock of Manchester. Designed by Henry Glover, they were said to have been a tender engine variant of the GNR’s T Class 4-4-2 tank engines. They had 5’9” driving wheels and were considered light enough to be allowed to travel anywhere on the GNR system, being principally intended for use on secondary routes. This led to them being used on most parts of the GNR network, including the famous ‘Derry Road’ from Portadown to Derry via Strabane and the ‘Irish North’ from Dundalk to Enniskillen.
Perhaps indicative of the enduring design the U class was to have, a 0-6-0 goods version, the UG class, was constructed 22 years later in 1937, also built by Beyer Peacock.
The world’s last inside cylinder 4-4-0s
The 4-4-0 was a common wheel arrangement for express passenger locos around the beginning of the twentieth century, and the GNR was no exception when it came to this choice. However, the early decades of the century saw a transition to larger 2-6-0 and 4-6-0 locomotives, and, in Ireland, the GSWR, MGWR, DSER, and NCC certainly all made use of 2-6-0 mogul designs, with the GSWR and the GSR developing several large 4-6-0 classes. This was pretty much the pattern overseas, too. However, the GNR was constrained by its somewhat cramped workshops in Dundalk, which led to it continuing to order 4-4-0s into the 1930s and 40s. Harold McIntosh, who had succeeded Glover, ordered five additional members for the U class, with some modernisation (higher boiler pressure and cab side windows), from Beyer Peacock; these were constructed in 1947. They emerged in the GNR(I)’s blue livery, a McIntosh innovation, which was later applied to the earlier batch (which up until then were black).
Indeed, they were the last railway company in the world to order new 4-4-0s. The second batch of Us was one of them, and were actually the last inside cylinder 4-4-0s to be constructed globally (the larger, outside cylindered, VS class came a year later and took the title of the last 4-4-0s in general). It’s quite remarkable that essentially an Edwardian design was being built in the post-WWII era. There were some updates, of course, and the 1947 batch emerged with modern roller-bearing high-sided tenders (although some of the older locos were also married up with new tenders).
As with the original locos, a goods variant followed, with five more UGs being delivered from Beyer Peacock in 1948.
Counties & Loughs
While the 1915 batch did originally have names, it was decided to name the 1947 engines after counties through which the GNR operated. These were:
201 Meath
202 Louth
203 Armagh
204 Antrim
205 Down
In turn, it was decided to allocate names to the 1915 engines as well, though in this case, the theme of counties was not followed and they were instead named after lakes:
196 Lough Gill
197 Lough Neagh
198 Lough Swilly
199 Lough Derg
200 Lough Melvin
The U Class on the Bundoran Express & other excursion trains
The Bundoran Express was a service operated by the GNR between Dublin Amiens St (now Connolly) and Pettigo via Dundalk and Clones. It was used by pilgrims heading to Inis Cealtra, the Holy Island of Lough Derg. While various classes are known to have worked the Bundoran Express, the U Class is perhaps most synonymous with it. Appropriate, too, perhaps, given their naming conventions. This service ceased when the lines between Dundalk, Clones, Enniskillen and Bundoran closed in 1957.
The U class was also often used on seaside excursion trains from the GNR system to Warrenpoint and also through to Bangor, the latter involving the class travelling over the former Belfast Central Railway and Belfast & County Down Railway metals.
The GNR dissolves, and the U Class is split up
In 1958, the cash-strapped GNR Board, as it had become in 1953, was dissolved by the Dublin and Stormont governments and its lines and fleet split between Coras Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA). The infrastructure was, naturally, divided based on which side of the border it lay on, while the fleet was (generally) evenly split between the two entities. Three of the 1915 batch went to CIÉ and two of the 1947 series, with the UTA in turn getting two of the older locos and three of the newer ones.
Renumbering came about. CIÉ already had locos bearing these numbers, and adopted the simple expedient of adding an ‘N’ to its locos, 197, 198, 199, 203, and 204. Thus, 199 became 199N, etc. However, 198 was only allocated the ‘N’ on paper, being withdrawn soon after the split, in 1959.
The UTA took a different approach to renumbering, allocating the U class numbers in the 60 series, as follows: 65 (196), 66 (200), 67 (201), 68 (202), and 69 (205).
While the CIÉ fleet retained its GNR blue livery, the UTA set about repainting its fleet in lined black livery.
The last days of the U class
U class locomotive No.67 (ex-201) is seen with a Sunday School excursion on the Bangor line in the early 1960s. Photo: H.C.A. Beaumont (courtesy Jonathan Beaumont).
CIÉ phased out the last of its steam fleet in the early 1960s, with 199N and 204N lingering on to 1963. These twilight years did, however, seem them find their way to new territory; it was not unheard of for them to haul boat trains to and from Dun Laoghaire pier on the former DSER line, for example. 197 even made it as far south as Kilkenny on an IRRS railtour in 1960, well into former GSWR territory.
The UTA examples lasted a bit longer, however. While its 1915 examples were taken out of service in 1961, its three 1947 examples carried on until 1965. Indeed, the class continued to find gainful employment wandering off former GNR territory on seaside excursion trains to Bangor until 1964. Larger locomotives were considered too heavy to traverse the Belfast Central section, so this made the Us and the UG 0-6-0 variant an ideal choice. The final visit of a U class to Bangor was on a railtour for the Royal Belfast Academical Institution in October 1964.
Sadly, all things must come to an end, and the UTA withdrew the last three U class locos in 1965. These three locos were by then only 18 years old—for comparison, that’s the same age the Iarnród Éireann Intercity Railcars are as we write this article in 2025.
Unfortunately, the preservation movement was in its infancy in Ireland at the time, and none of these historic engines were saved from scrap. However, they retain their place in Irish, and indeed, worldwide, steam locomotive history, and we hope that our new enamel badge goes some way towards preserving the legacy of these pretty little engines.
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