#gnri — Public Fediverse posts

Having picked my spot carefully, tested my composition with a Commuter train, the Irish weather played a mean trick on me! A cloud blotted out the foreground sun just as former #GNRi #steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion approached #Maynooth along the #RoyalCanal with “The Midlander”! #RPSI

My last shot of former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion working the last of the steam-hauled #RPSI Santa Specials of 2025. She performed wonderfully, and sped past the Duke’s Harbour on the #RoyalCanal at #CartonHouse near #Maynooth. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! 🎄

A peek at former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion through Pike Bridge at the Duke’s Harbour on the #RoyalCanal at the entrance to #CartonHouse pulling the last steam-hauled #RPSI Santa Special of the 2025 season out of #Maynooth.

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion passing the Duke’s Harbour on the #RoyalCanal at the gates to #CartonHouse as seen from Pike Bridge with the last steam-hauled #RPSI Santa Special of the 2025 seanson. No steam as she’s coasting towards the #Maynooth approach signal.

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion working an #RPSI Santa Special tender-first along a beautiful rural stretch of the #RoyalCanal east of #Maynooth.

As the wind picks up the steam from former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion swirls down and onto the #RoyalCanal towpath east of #Maynooth as she pulls an #RPSI Santa Special back towards Dublin tender-fist. Thankfully she was running clean, smelled like an open fire when it hit me 🙂

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion with it’s clean white steam contrasting against the December clouds as she works hard accelerating an #RPSI Santa Special away from the sharp turn in the line and #RoyalCanal at #Leixlip Louisa Bridge.

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion pulling an #RPSI Santa Special around the sharp turn in the line and the #RoyalCanal at #Leixlip Louisa Bridge station. #blackAndWhite #momochrome

This is the best side-view I was able to get of former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion working the 2025 #RPSI Santa Specials. This shows the engine’s defining features nicely:

1. Two sets of small leading wheels, two sets of big driving wheels, and no trialing wheels, hence 4-4-0!
2. An un-tapered boiler (cylindrical)
3. A separate coal and water tender (so not a tank engine despite the Thomas-blue colour)

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion gently steams into #Maynooth along the banks of the #RoyalCanal with an #RPSI Santa Special on a particularly dull December afternoon.

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion coasting towards #Maynooth station along the banks of the #RoyalCanal with an RPSI Santa Special.

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion appears around the last corner as it approaches #Maynooth with an #RPSI Santa Special along the banks of the #RoyalCanal.

Having run around its train in Maynooth, former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 171 Slieve Gullion steams around the sharp bend in the line and the #RoyalCanal at Intel in #Leixlip as it pulls an #RPSI Santa Special back to Dublin.

A closer look at former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion as it steams past Intel in #Leixlip with an #RPSI Santa Special.

It turns out just one of the twelve 2025 #RPSI Santa Specials would be blessed with some winter sun, but former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion sure looked great rounding the corner at Intel in #Leixlip yesterday morning!

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion in #Maynooth having disconnected from an #RPSI Santa Special to run around it for the return leg while Santa entertains the kids on the platform.

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion steaming through the Irish December rain approaching #Maynooth with an RPSI Santa Special along the banks of the #RoyalCanal

Former #GNRi 4-4-0 #steamLoco No. 171 Slieve Gullion approaching #Maynooth with an #RPSI Santa Special as the Irish December rain buckets down!

My last view of the former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 131 on the 15th of June as she works the home leg of the second of two Dublin-Maynooth-Dublin ‘Midlander’ steam specials for the #RPSI. Here she is, running tender-first, exiting the Ryewater viaduct in #Lexlip which carries the Dublin to Sligo railway and the #RoyalCanal over the river Rye just east of Louisa Bridge station.

A glimpse of #RPSI preserved former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 131 exiting the Ryewater viaduct and approaching #Leixlip Louisa Bridge station as she pulled ‘The Midlander’ towards Maynooth. This was the second of two specials last Sunday, and she caught me by surprise being a little early!

The Midlander steaming out of #Maynooth along the banks of the #RoyalCanal with the return leg of a pair of specials run by the #RPSI last weekend. The cloud of steam is issuing from the former #GNRi loco No. 131.

The best side-view I got of the former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 131 as she worked the return leg of ‘the Midlander’ run by the #RPSI last Sunday. Here we see her working hard to accelerate out of #Maynooth along the banks of the #RoyalCanal.

The #RPSI preserved former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 131 pulling the return leg of the first of two ‘Midlander’ steam specials tender-first along the #RoyalCanal as she accelerates out of #Maynooth back towards Dublin on Sunday.

A closer look at #RPSI preserved 4–4-0 former #GNRi steam loco No. 131 as she approached #Maynooth along the #RoyalCanal working ‘the Midlander’ on Sunday morning.

The #RPSI preserved former #GNRi 4-4-0 steam loco No. 131 working ‘the Midlander’ to Maynooth yesterday. Here she’s running along the #RoyalCanal as she slower for her arrival into #Maynooth.