Táilte Tours

Táilte Tours is a not-for-profit company whose principal objective is to use railtours and coach tours across Ireland to generate support and interest in Irish railway heritage.^[1] Táilte is a CLG run by volunteers, and uses its surplus income to fundraise for heritage railways and railway museums in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The company takes its name from GSR 800 Class steam locomotive No. 802 Táilte, the last conventional steam locomotive to be built in Ireland,^[2] which in turn took its name from the Irish mythological goddess Tailtiu.

Unlike some other railtour operators, Táilte does not own its own locomotives or rolling stock. Instead, it charters ordinary rolling stock from Iarnród Éireann, Ireland's national railway operator. These tours are marketed both towards railway enthusiasts (by chartering vehicles away from their typical routes, such as taking a retro-liveried 2600 Class to Galway when they are typically only found in Cork^[3][4]) and the general public (by providing leisure time in tourist/shopping towns like Tralee, Killarney, or Waterford). Railtours typically start from Dublin, though unusually for an Irish railtour company Táilte have also started some tours from Cork.^[5]

As many of Ireland's railway museums are isolated from the national network, Táilte runs coach tours in addition to its railtours. The coach tours typically start from outside Dublin's Connolly Station.

Any profit raised from Táilte's tours is used to fund Irish railway museums and societies. For example, the group's inaugural tour - The Premier Rose - was used to generate funds for the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, the Stradbally Woodland Railway, the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre, the Cavan and Leitrim Railway, and Belturbet Railway Museum.^[6] The group also sells pin badges^[7] and other Irish railway souvenirs on its website, with proceeds being donated to railway preservation societies in Ireland.^[8] Táilte also helps these groups by providing supporting buses to their own events, such as to a DCDR-Irish Traction Group diesel day,^[9] in turn increasing their revenue.

More generally, Táilte promotes awareness of Irish railway heritage. It does this by advertising other railway groups and museums; through educational literature on its tours; and through a blog^[10] on its website which marks significant dates in Irish railway history, such as the 150th anniversary of the Belfast Central Railway,^[11] the 40th anniversary of the DART network,^[12] or the 75th anniversary of mainline diesel locomotives being used in Ireland.^[13] Sometimes the tours themselves are organised to raise public awareness of railway history, such as the Great Southern Railway Centennial Tour to commemorate 100 years since the creation of the Great Southern Railways.^[14]

• List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland
• List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland
• History of rail transport in Ireland