LM167: A Lifetime on the Tracks

LM167, a 1956 Ruston locomotive, laid the first rails on the Coolnamona System and now serves Stradbally’s track maintenance fleet after its preservation and restoration by ISPS.
Vintage yellow diesel locomotive parked beside a rustic railway track, accompanied by a grey flatbed wagon loaded with tools, surrounded by trees under a clear blue sky.

LM167 was built by Ruston and Hornsby in Lincoln for Bord na Móna in 1956. It is the smaller 40DL type and initially spent time operating around the Derrygreenagh System of BnM near Rhodesia Co.Offaly before moving to County Laois in 1965 and laying the first rail lines on the Coolnamona System near Portlaoise in the mid 1960s.

It was rebuilt in circa 1976 with a Gardner 4LW power unit of approx 40hp at the workshop at Cuil na Móna. It spent the rest of its industrial service operating around the Coolnamona System near Portlaoise hauling fuel oil and track equipment mainly but was often pressed into use hauling peat trains when needed. 

It was preserved by ISPS in 2010 at Stradbally and restoration took place once the new Stradbally Railway Works was completed allowing it to be worked on and stored under cover. It now works most of the track repair and infrastructure trains at Stradbally as of 2025 but does not work passenger trains.

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