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With the return to the working of the Belfast - Dublin "Enterprise" service with coaching stock instead of augmented diesel railcar sets Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) found itself with no suitable main line diesel locomotives. The Class 101 (DL) became the answer to the immediate problem working in conjunction with the newly acquired ex – BR Mk. 2 coaches. == History. == The 101 Class of NIR consisted of three mainline diesel-electric locomotives designed for use with the ''Enterprise'' passenger services between Belfast and Dublin. The intention was to reduce the time for the 180 km (112-mile) journey to two hours. The design of the superstructure and bogies was carried out by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds with English Electric / AEI being responsible for the electrical traction. The contract stipulated a ten-month delivery period but with Hunslet's workshops already committed, the superstructure and assembly was contracted out to (BREL), Doncaster, Hunslet providing the bogies. They were of Bo-Bo wheel arrangement and fitted with CSVT Mk. II engines. The locomotives were fitted with buckeye couplers as standard and had air brake capability for operation with the Mk.2 coaches. They were visually, mechanically & electrically very similar to the KTMB class 22 (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad - Malaysian Railways) locomotives built by English Electric at around the same time, however these had had a Co-Co arrangement and an uprated power unit. A small number are still operated. The press launch of the new "Enterprise" was held on 3 July 1970 when a special train, carrying invited guests, ran from Great Victoria Street, Belfast to Dublin with two locomotives working the train, one at each end. This was generally well received, however comments were made regarding the train "hunting" due to the second locomotive pushing from the rear. All three re-use names previously used by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Class V locomotives, as follows: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「NIR 101 Class」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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