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GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY (IRELAND)
"S" CLASS 4-4-0 No. 171 "SLIEVE GULLION"

BUILT BY:BEYER, PEACOCK & CO., MANCHESTER (WORKS NO. 5629) 
YEAR BUILT: 1913 
RENEWED: G N R (I), DUNDALK WORKS, 1938 (WORKS NO. 42) 
WITHDRAWN:1965 

171 at Lisburn.
Line drawing of GNR(I) No.171 'Slieve Gullion'

Built for the Belfast - Dublin express trains, No. 171 spent over 40 years on various parts of the GNR system on the main line and secondary duties along with the other 4 members of her class.  After the greater part of the GNR was closed in 1957, and the remainder split between CIE and UTA in 1958, she was allocated to CIE before being sold to the UTA in 1963.  Her last few years in traffic until 1965 were spent based in Belfast for use on Belfast - Portadown and Derry trains. 

171 at Bangor during Bangor Belles in 2000. Photo by P Lockett
171 subsequently became the RPSI's first main line locomotive and has been used on many excursions since. Original livery was lined green, changing to unlined black in the late 1910's, and the familiar blue was carried from 1932 onwards. The RPSI has maintained this livery generally, though the engine carried the earlier unlined black from 1996 to 2000, having been repainted thus for a film contract. 

The loco is currently in store at Whitehead.

Keeping Steam alive in Ireland since 1964

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