Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911. It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland op ...

(DW&WR) 50 and 51 were two

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...

tender locomotives built in 1891 at

Vulcan Works Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several Ironworks, iron foundries in both England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and, in one case, lasting until the mid-20th century. Vulcan (mythology), Vulcan, the Roman god of fir ...

and were named ''

Arklow Arklow ( ; ; ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the Battle of Arklow, bloodiest battles ...

'' and ''

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

'' respectively. These were the first the

wheel configuration to be purchased by the DW&WR. The DW&WR's own Grand Canal Street were to construct two more in 1899/1900 and to follow that with a design for five more from 1904. The DW&WR became the

Dublin and South Eastern Railway The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911. It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland op ...

(DSER) from the end of 1906. Under the locomotive engineer R. Cronin both engines were rebuilt with Belpaire boilers in 1912 and 1915 respectively and the boiler pressure increased to 160 lb. The second engine No. 51 was deliberately destroyed in a head-on collision in the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

. On 23 January 1923 ''New Ross'' was hauling the 6:30 am goods train from

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

when a large force attacked the in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

. The force organised a deliberate head-on collision with that of a cattle special from the opposite direction, which on that day, due to disruptions, was being hauled by the DSER's newest express passenger engine '' Rathcoole''. Both engines were ultimately deemed unsalvagable. The remaining engine passed to

Great Southern Railways The Great Southern Railways Company (often Great Southern Railways, or GSR) was an Ireland, Irish company that from 1925 until 1945 owned and operated all railways that lay wholly within the Irish Free State (the present-day Republic of Irelan ...

(GSR) on amalgamation in 1925 being allocated the new number 447 and a new class of 447/J7, being the only member of that class. Thenceforth it was mainly used for goods work on the

Shillelagh branch line The Shillelagh branch line was a branch line of some to Shillelagh, County Wicklow opened by the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR) in 1865. It joined the Dublin–Rosslare railway line at Woodenbridge halt. The single track line cl ...

until withdrawal in 1930.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DWandWR 50 0-6-0 locomotives 5 ft 3 in gauge locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1891 Scrapped locomotives Steam locomotives of Ireland