Ref.MM5602
MkII EGV; IE Livery with Black Roof
MKII D EGV: IE Livery with Black Roof In 1972 CIE placed an order with BREL for 72 new coaches based on the British Rail Mark IId design. These were built at the Litchurch Lane workshops in Derby. With air conditioning as a principal feature they became known as AC Stock and ran on type B4 bogies, with vacuum brakes. The order consisted of 6 First Class coaches (5101 to 5106), 9 Composites (5151-5159), 36 Standard Class (5201-5236), 11 Restaurant / Buffet / Standard Class (5401-5411) and 11 Generator Vans (5601-5611). Internal fit-out was done in Inchicore, and was quite different from the original BR design, using bench seating rather than individual seats and made extensive use of wood veneer panelling. Their electrical system also differed from the BR and NIR versions. The Generator Van contained two engine / generator sets, each supplying 220 / 380 Volts 50 Hz AC to two separate "busses" in the train. The air conditioning loads were divided in half, each half fed from each "buss". In the case of failure of one generator set, the other set automatically supplies both "busses". Air conditioning output power would then be halved, but all other loads including Cooking, Lighting and Battery Charging continue to be supplied. This has remained the model for the electrical power supply on all subsequent IE coaches. To accommodate changes in traffic, five of the Composites, 5153-5156 and 5158 were re-classed as "Standards", while one of the Restaurant / Buffet / Standards, 5408, was converted for use as the Presidential Coach. The remaining MK 2 carriages were gradually phased out during 2007 and 2008, with the last remaining set operating its final service, the 05:05 Athlone - Heuston, on March 31, 2008. Two of these vehicles (Nos. 5106 and 5203) have been preserved by the RPSI and were moved to their Whitehead base in the first quarter of 2008. They will be renumbered 303 and 304 respectively, and be repainted in RPSI dark green livery. In addition, the Presidential coach No. 5408 remains stored at Inchicore, still owned by Irish Rail. This vehicle is earmarked for preservation by the RPSI. In addition to the vacuum-braked mk2d fleet, a second fleet of mk2 coaches were used by Irish Rail. These were second hand air-braked mk2 coaches acquired in the early 1990s. They were numbered in the 41XX series for standards, or 44XX series for catering vehicles. These coaches were withdrawn around 2003 following the deployment of 2900 class railcar sets into service. Some of these vehicles have been preserved. 4106 can be found at Kilmeaden station on the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway