On Saturday, 15th April, Táilte Tours of Ireland will run a rail tour from Cork to Waterford via Limerick Junction and the Tipperary line using a 2600 railcar set.

The “Suir Lee Knot” rail tour will be the first time the company has operated a tour based in the city, and the first one to use a 2600 railcar set. Nowadays, 22000 class Intercity Railcars are normally used for services on the Waterford-Limerick Junction route.

In the past, the 2700 and 2800 classes were used on this route, but the classic 1990s-built 2600 class have always been relative strangers to the line, so this is a rare treat. 2600s were once common in the Dublin suburban area, but for over a decade, they have been mainly restricted to the Cork commuter network.

Only a few Iarnród Éireann passenger routes still use mechanical signalling and ETS operation, one of which is the line from Limerick Junction to Waterford line. The tour will therefore stop at Clonmel, which is home to one of Ireland’s few remaining mechanical signal boxes and provide a chance to view the now-rare semaphore signalling installations.

A further stop will be made at Carrick-on-Suir where passengers can view the Irish Traction Group’s base and its Metrovick C Class locomotive No.226 which is nearing the end of a long period of restoration to bring it back to running order.

Unfortunately, due to logistical reasons, there will be no catering services on this rail tour, but it will make an extended stop at Waterford for passengers to get lunch.

Departure from Cork will be at approximately 10:00am with a return by 8:00pm, but passengers can also join the tour at Limerick Junction. The tour is timed so that anyone travelling from Dublin can travel on the first service to Cork and the last one back.

Tickets for the tour cost €65 or €88 for a rail tour ticket and a mystery package containing souvenir items with a combined RRP value of over €30, and can be booked online at https://www.tailtetours.com/event-detai … t-railtour