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Written by steamtrainengines.com
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The Great Northern Railway of Ireland was formed in 1876, when four smaller companies decided to amalgamate under that name. Linking Dublin and Belfast, the G.N.R. was of particular interest in that it operated in two countries, with frontier formalities not only on the main line at Goraghwood and Dundalk but also on the old Irish North Western to Eniskillen, and between Strabane and Londonderry.
The main line between the two capitals is well adapted for fast running, and in 1932 accelerated services were brought into operation, with timings of 54 minutes for the 54 miles from Dublin to Dundalk, and 122 minutes for the entire 112 miles to Belfast. To work these trains the Locomotive Superintendent of the G.N.R., G. T. Glover, introduced a
very fine 3-cylinder compound 4 4-0 of Class 'V.' Previous attempts at compounding in Britain had met with little success, apart from the Midland Railway 4-4-Os, but these new engines were soon shown to be both powerful and economical. Five were built, all painted blue and named after birds of prey; No. 85 ' Merlin ' is here seen at Belfast.
With 6 ft. 7 in. driving wheels they were able to operate the new schedules with ease, and in 1948 H. R. Mclntosh produced a further five similar engines, but with three simple cylinders; these were classed ' VS ' and named after rivers such as ' Foyle ' and ' Lagan.' With the big ' Bla ' 4-6-Os of the Great Southern, the G.N.R. compounds could justifiably claim a place among the outstanding locomotives of Europe.
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