The committee's first tour saw the charter run from Dublin Connolly to Tralee and return with an Iarnród Éireann mkIV carriage set and 201 class loco No.215
The ‘Premier Rose' ran on Saturday the 20th of August and was a resounding success for the new Irish rail tour promoter, Táilte Tours which is a voluntary-run committee.
Marking a first in many ways for Táilte Tours ‘Premier Rose' was not just the first tour but also the very first time that the mkIV carriages had operated with passengers on the Dublin Connolly to Islandbridge section and between Killarney and Tralee. Previous to the tour, the mkIV's had only been in action on the Dublin Heuston to Cork service, only travelling to Connolly and Tralee on test runs and for work to be carried out at the Connolley Valeting Plant.
A good mix of rail enthusiasts and daytrippers were on board the tour alongside a selection of stands supporting a number of heritage railway organisations.
Niall Kelly, Marketing Officer for Táilte Tours, said
“We're overwhelmed with the support we received for our first rail tour, at every level from
passengers, to sponsors, to the staff at Iarnród Éireann themselves. It was great to be able to
provide an opportunity to showcase just what the Irish heritage railway sector has to offer too.
The question has now changed from ‘if' we will run a second mainline tour to ‘when'.”
Sunday the 21st of August also saw more rail fun with a journey using a service train to the Cavan & Leitrim Railway at Dromod where a number of trips were enjoyed on the recently restored Avonside steam locomotive ‘Nancy' which also marked another first as it was her first season in passenger service.
Táilte Tours is named after one of Ireland's biggest steam locomotives and aims to raise both funding and awareness of Ireland's smaller railway heritage groups which will be achieved through the organisation of rail tours and railway events across the country.
Was a great weekend on both tours. Ran alright given it was the first tour.