Irish Traction Group

The Irish Traction Group is a railway preservation society dedicated to preserving diesel locomotives from Irish railways. It was founded on 4 June 1989 with the intention of attempting to preserve at least one example of every type of diesel locomotive to have operated on the Irish Rail system. The ITG's locomotives and work are spread across three sites: Carrick-on-Suir railway station, the Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR), and the West Clare Railway.

Locations
When the ITG was first set up, Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) were reluctant to sell any locomotives to the group until they had a location to store them. IÉ offered the group use of the disused goods sheds at Portarlington or Carrick-on-Suir in December 1990. Portarlington was initially preferred due to its better condition, connection to the Dublin–Cork mainline, and closer proximity to Dublin city. However, IÉ's decision to instead redevelop the property in May 1991 left the ITG with Carrick-on-Suir as the only choice. The group had also briefly investigated the possibility of sharing a base with the now-defunct Tuam-based preservation society Westrail, but IÉ rejected this.

Carrick-on-Suir
The former goods shed at Carrick-on-Suir is the ITG's headquarters and main restoration base. The ITG moved into the site in May 1992, with one initial year of free rent to restore the building. The first locomotives (226 and C231) arrived on site in December 1992, and since then 10 locomotives have been stored or repaired there at various times. In 2013, the ITG's siding was disconnected from the Limerick - Waterford line as part of rationalisation work by IÉ, leaving the shed isolated from the mainline network.

Present work at Carrick-on-Suir is focused on restoring 226, while B103 and G601 are stored outside under protective steel covers. G616 is currently stored inside the shed in a partially dismantled state, the results of an overhaul started in 1993 but stopped in 1996 due to a lack of volunteers to continue work on the locomotive. Work resumed on this locomotive in early 2012. The engine was started for the first time in some 26 years on Saturday 29 September 2012.

Downpatrick
The Downpatrick and County Down Railway is the only Irish standard gauge heritage railway in Ireland. ITG locomotives have been based there since 1995, when G617 was sent to the railway on long term loan. It has since been joined by G611 (1996), A39R (2009), 146 (2010), and most recently C231 (2014). The ITG's Wickham inspection railcar No. 712 has also been based at DCDR since 1998 and is currently in long-term storage.

Locomotive 146 is the main workhorse of the ITG fleet at Downpatrick, and has been in near-continuous use since its arrival in 2010. G617 and A39R are also fully operational, and are used for shunting and special diesel-hauled passenger trains respectively. G611 is currently stored, whilst C231 is undergoing piecemeal restoration as time permits.

Moyasta
At present four locomotives, A3R, 124, 152 and 190 are in storage at Moyasta Junction on the West Clare Railway. C231 was previously stored at Moyasta but was moved to the Downpatrick and County Down Railway in 2014. The locomotives stored at Moyasta are longer-term projects for restoration. A museum building at Moyasta is proposed by the West Clare Railway which would accommodate the ITG locomotives stored there.

Restoration
At present, the ITG have four locomotives at their Carrick-on-Suir site, five at Downpatrick, and four at Moyasta on the West Clare Railway. Restoration work takes place at Carrick-on-Suir and Downpatrick, with Moyasta serving as a storage location for longer-term projects.

Heritage Diesel Trains and Galas
The ITG does not have any track or carriages of its own, but the locomotives based at Downpatrick are considered part of a pooled fleet along with DCDR's own locomotives. ITG locomotives are regularly used at Downpatrick to haul heritage passenger trains using DCDR carriages. They also perform shunting, private charters, and empty coaching stock movements for DCDR. 'Diesel Gala' events using multiple ITG locomotives and DCDR's own diesels are held regularly, such as in 2012 (to mark 146 turning 50 years old), 2014 (to mark the ITG's 25th anniversary), and 2019 (to mark the ITG's 30th anniversary).

The Irish Mail
The ITG publishes a quarterly journal for its members called The Irish Mail, named after the train and ferry service from England to Ireland that the group's members and volunteers used in its early days.

Railtours
From 1989 to 2010, the ITG operated over 40 railtours on the Irish railway network, using a mixture of its own locomotives and hired locomotives from Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways. These railtours ceased in 2010 with the 141 Class Farewell Tour.

Locomotives
The ITG owns thirteen locomotives and one inspection trolley. It has previously owned another three locomotives. 226 was the ITG's first locomotive, arriving at its Carrick-on-Suir base on 6 December 1992.

Locomotives formerly owned by the ITG
The entire NIR 1 Class (Nos.1, 2 and 3) were purchased by the ITG in 1994. The ITG sold locomotives 2 and 3 to Beaver Power Ltd in 2005 for work in Sri Lanka, which were subsequently overhauled at Beaver's Merthyr Tydfil workshops with the work including regauging to 5' 6" and the fitting of a new diesel engine. In 2010, the ITG sold locomotive 1 to Beaver for eventual overhaul (it had been moved with 2 and 3 in 2005 for use initially as a source of spare parts) and reuse in Sri Lanka. Today, 2 is operational and carried the name 'Shakthi' at a Holcim cement plant in Puttalam province, Sri Lanka, while 1, stripped for parts during the rebuilding of the other two, remains stored at Merthyr Tydfil. After several years of operation, 3 has also been stripped for parts in Sri Lanka for the upkeep of 2.