The Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway operated a 43-mile line in northern Ireland from 1877, which consisted only of the main line and had no branch lines. However, since this route, which was built in the Irish broad gauge of 5 ft 3 in, was only laid out with light rails, the running characteristics of the two 0-6-2T locomotives “Pioneer” and “Sligo” left a lot to be desired. The solution was to replace the trailng axle with a bogie. 

Model of the “Fermanagh”

Bradley Wurth

The company Beyer, Peacock & Co. had delivered locomotives of this type to the South Australian Railways as class K from 1879, which were also designed for lightly built routes. So they ordered two locomotives with the names “Fermanagh” and “Leitrim”, which were basically an enlarged class K. Since these proved themselves, three more examples followed by 1899, named “Lurganboy”, “Lissadell” and “Hazelwood”. The first of these locomotives, now known as the Leitrim class, were not retired until 1947 and one remained in service until 1957, when the SL&NCR ceased operations.

After the five Leitrim class locomotives from the 19th century, SL&NCR had procured three more Sir Henry class locomotives in 1904, 1905 and 1917, which also had the 0-6-4T wheel arrangement and were manufactured by Beyer, Peacock & Co. After the Second World War, the existing fleet of vehicles was no longer sufficient and in poor condition, so that the procurement of a powerful Garratt locomotive was initially considered. The route was now between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which made operation not exactly easy. In addition, it was in a sparsely populated and not very prosperous area, which significantly worsened the financial situation and made it impossible to buy an expensive locomotive.

Finally, two smaller locomotives were ordered, which again had the 0-6-4T wheel arrangement and were completed in 1949. Since the SL&NCR could not pay for the locomotives, lengthy negotiations with the government of Northern Ireland followed. It was finally agreed on a lease purchase and the locomotives were used until the line was closed in 1957. They were named after the lakes Lough Melvin and Lough Erne, which explains the name of the class. They were then sold to the Ulster Transport Authority and used by them as Class Z for about ten years. Preserved by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, Lough Erne is now at Whitehead on the Northern Irish coast.

In 1915, the Great Southern & Western had number 900 built in Inchicore as a banker locomotive for the incline between Kingsbridge and Clondalkin. It had a 4-8-0T wheel arrangement, making it the only Irish broad gauge locomotive to have four coupled axles. It had inside cylinders, a Belpaire firebox and some common parts with the classes 362 and 368.

Locomotive Magazine, November 1918

In 1924 an identical locomotive was built with the number 901. In reality, however, it turned out that they easily derailed in marshalling yards with tight curves. Number 900 was soon rebuilt into a 4-6-2T by removing the coupling rods to the last axle, but this did not have the desired effect. It was withdrawn in 1928 and the 901 in 1931 because they did not perform roles for which there were no other suitable locomotives.

In 1904, Charles Clifford, superintendent of the Irish Great Northern, had two 0-6-2T tank locomotives built for shunting work in the Belfast freight yard. They came from Robert Stephenson & Co. and were given the numbers 98 and 99. The cylinders were on the inside and drove the second driving axle. Ultimately only 98 remained permanently in Belfast, while 99 was later moved to Dublin. They each received a new superheated boiler in 1932 and 1935, respectively.