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http://www.irishrail.ie/fleet_information/locomotives.asp is the official line, Griffin, you are closer to the true figure. 184 and 189 are stopped in Inchicore pending overhaul if possible; as is 149 and 168; 123 is also fit for the road, give or take some work. 160 is awaiting repairs as is 166 but don't expect them out anytime soon. 124 and 134 are ear marked for the Irish Traction Group (ITG) when they are finished. The 121/141 series are life expired so it's good that there is still life insdie them, 181's are due this year, give or take. The future of the 3 smaller classes is safe for the next few years, subject to no heavy failures. There is a lot of track relaying for the time being; Western Rail Corridor work beyond Ennis and towards Claremorris and the hours of idle waiting suits these lower powered units nicely; this and transfer work (22000, DART and carriage scrapping) will give them work for the minute. There will also be interconnector work in the mid term and the many PW/spoil trains that it will bring. The only revenue earning regular freight workings suitable for the small GM loco's are the Waterford timbers and some of the Limerick Shale/cement transfers; liners, longer cement trains need the power and speed of 071's and 201's, while 071's only can be marked in for Zinc's due to loading issues at the port. There is some speculation on new power units being ordered for Dublin-Belfast services in the next year or two; this however will be in tandem with additional orders for new rolling stock to increase service levels on the line. Mark 4s are capable of retro fitting engines into the Driving Van Trailer (DVT). Currently, the network is suffering from capacity issues in some places (Dublin and suburban Belfast), with line speeds also causing other problems elsewhere (Belfast, Westport, Rosslare). By and large, the future is for DMU's, loco hauled services being better suited to the busier and hilly Dublin-Cork-Belfast lines.

Al, most people report the 22000 class to be exceptionally quiet. Other classes are by no means silent but noisy? Not any ones I have travelled on for sure. As for your point on railcars failing, 29000's are by a long way the most reliable train units in the fleet.

There won't be as much work initially for them, but they will be busy enough, yes. I'd imagine that loco turning will increase soon enough. Enterprise needs 3 locos at any one time and 6 loco's are fully fitted with TPWS to work cross border. One loco can stay at either end as spare, and one in Dundalk and a thunderbolt (rescue engine for breakdowns in service. This gives 5 in wait; one can be serviced and rested at leisure. Unless other units are retro fitted, these 6 must be held onto to ensure this service has cover. Rumours abound for new sets for this service; I'd say extra rolling stock would be more likely with the spare loco's finding work here; increasing the service to hourly will need 11 engines. Dublin-Cork has 7 sets in operation at any one time. A spare loco at each end and a thunderbolt sitting in Thurles or Mallow; assume one in the sheds and that's 11 more. While the figures may sound excessive. bear in mind that there is several 201's sitting idle or in service on a daily basis. Some loco's will be required for transfers as well; Limerick, Cork and Waterford should see a bigger pilot loco. Current Thunderbolt's are 071 class but they will be filling in the gaps when the Bo-Bo's retire with some needed for Zinc; 201's can fill in on the timber/cement/liners on the mainlines. There is 6-8 timbers a week and one liner to and from Ballina. These trips are the longest trips on the network and tie a loco up for almost a day. Limerick has a lot of cement and shale traffic to cover as well