Athlone - Mullingar line

simon_24 · 26-02-2012 10:09pm #1

I live close to the now derelict Athlone/mullingar line, I was wondering does anyone has pictures of it in its heyday, trains, stations, from the 70s or 80s, I'm only a newcomer to the area and always wondered what it was like???

Hungerford · 26-02-2012 10:41pm

I can't help with photos etc. but I can say that it would have been extremely busy. It was part of the Dublin-Galway mainline and was double-tracked throughout at one stage. The current mainline route actually substitutes it for what was originally a branch line between Athlone and Portarlington.

simon_24 · 26-02-2012 10:52pm

Yes its actually a fantastic bit of trackbed, straight in most parts, if the line still ran this way the route would be a lot quicker!! Good old CIE!!

cml387 · 26-02-2012 11:00pm

Not only did it have services to/from Galway,it also saw services to Westport.

I remember being in Mullingar in the 70's seeing a service to Knock pass through.

While there are no photos of that particular line, there are some good photos in the national library Of Ireland's Flickr pages.

topnotch · 27-02-2012 12:06am

The First Great Train Robbery (1979) starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland contains several scenes filmed along the line.

dowlingm · 27-02-2012 12:56am

simon_24 wrote: »

Yes its actually a fantastic bit of trackbed, straight in most parts, if the line still ran this way the route would be a lot quicker!! Good old CIE!!

Not to mention a more direct routing for the North Wall container services. Would need more d/track Mullingar-Maynooth though plus more efficient track management/level crossing removal east of Maynooth, some of it already going on

Losty Dublin · 27-02-2012 12:05pm

simon_24 wrote: »

Yes its actually a fantastic bit of trackbed, straight in most parts, if the line still ran this way the route would be a lot quicker!! Good old CIE!!

Trains from the West were diverted via Portarlington as it was actually a quicker line than that via Mullingar.

Jehuty42 · 27-02-2012 3:26pm

The decision was made at some point that the Cork line would be the mainline and receive the lions share of investment, all the way up to now with the quad-tracking. Certainly it's a much better line to take into Dublin these days than the MGWR line, if only it didn't end at the outskirts of the city at Heuston. It's the only proper line trunk line we have in this country.

Athlone-Mullingar would perhaps have made a better route in terms of bringing people to the centre of Dublin, but it would have required the line from Mullingar in to be heavily upgraded and additional tracks added. Certainly nowadays with the extra congestion of Maynooth commuter trains and DART around Connolly it is much less feasible to run express Intercity trains that way.

It might be handy as a freight route, but the Sligo line can't really handle any more trains without more passing facilities as I understand it. The capital budget isn't there either to bring it back into use. Besides, the Phoenix Park/Cabra route has to be maintained anyway, so may as well go that way.

simon_24 · 27-02-2012 8:33pm

Yes I understand why they couldn't reopen it now, but why was it shut in the first place? Anyone know?

corktina · 27-02-2012 8:45pm

Because they diverted the trains to the other route. I beileve that was because of capacity problems in the region of Connoly Station.

simon_24 · 27-02-2012 8:57pm

Ah I see, well anyways I'll leave my original question open, has anyone got pictures of diesels working the line in the 60's/70's/80's?

Niles · 27-02-2012 9:28pm

simon_24 wrote: »

Ah I see, well anyways I'll leave my original question open, has anyone got pictures of diesels working the line in the 60's/70's/80's?

Not my photos but here's some:

http://www.geograph.ie/photo/2368132
http://irishrailwaynews.multiply.com/photos/album/52/Mullingar_to_Athlone_line?&show_interstitial=1&u=%2Fphotos%2Falbum#photo=4

Losty Dublin · 28-02-2012 12:32am

simon_24 wrote: »

Yes I understand why they couldn't reopen it now, but why was it shut in the first place? Anyone know?

The line isn't shut as such; it's just that no services are run through it anymore. The trains that ran through it were diverted via Tullamore and Portarlington in the 70's as it is a quicker route; it also had better potential for traffic. The last regular services that ran on the old line were the Postal trains but they were pulled in and around 1987. At the time the traveling post office was canceled by An Post and a new station was opened in Athlone which was closer to the town centre and the then busy goods station; it was also opened in anticipation of the lines to Galway and Westport/Ballina being closed.

Given that there is just one urban centre on the line (Moate) and that there are critical capacity issues in and around Connolly station, it's unlikely that the line will ever see any passenger traffic anytime soon.

There are some pics on this link you may enjoy here

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20M/Moate/IrishRailwayStations.html

lord lucan · 28-02-2012 1:46am

I took these at Moate in the summer of 2010,no loco's sadly but an eerie sense of what once was. Since these were taken i believe a fence has been erected to limit access to the station.

Moate 2010

kildarecommuter · 28-02-2012 11:17pm

The last regular train was the ASAHI liner which ended in 1987/8 it was still used by per way trains for a year or two after that.

demanufactured · 29-02-2012 1:19am

Used to see ballast trains on it during the 90s.

The odd passanger service...(prob gaa trains)

And the famous yellow cabs (inspection cabs)

dowlingm · 29-02-2012 5:03am

Things have changed in the meantime, the western suburbs of Dublin are much more populated now and might form a larger catchment than at withdrawal, but I think that realistically such services would have to be either join/split Sligo services like Galway/Westport or extensions of Mullingar services for no net additional movements. The more serious problem would be that Athlone West no longer exists as of 1985 and Athlone Station has a small housing estate between it and the Mullingar alignment. Most of the development is on the Westmeath side so it would be farcical to go back to pre-1985 when Athlone West was The lines deviate rapidly east of Athlone and the urban form means a connecting track opportunity does not present itself quickly or therefore cheaply.

demanufactured · 29-02-2012 10:48am

Quiet easily done.
For a train leaving athlone for mullungar....
Driver gets into the end of the 22000 that will head towards mullingar ...reverses out of athlone southern to the junction...calls whoever it is that switches the points (connolly?)..and heads onto mullingar.

Just do the reverse when coming into athlone.

dowlingm · 29-02-2012 3:46pm

that's how it works in Killarney I suppose. I don't know why I thought they had a delta junction!

Hungerford · 29-02-2012 5:35pm

demanufactured wrote: »

Quiet easily done.

Or simply move the station back to Athlone Midland. The town appears to have grown far closer to it than was the case in the past.

simon_24 · 29-02-2012 9:58pm

Even they could open it to take the odd express passenger service/freight run, and reopen the west station, its just as close to the population of the town now, I remember Bertie promised to reopen it in 2007 (election year surprise surprise), and a study from AIT said it could be done for €80 million, probably be even cheaper now, I know it won't happen, but I'd like it to!!!

Hungerford · 29-02-2012 10:38pm

simon_24 wrote: »

a study from AIT said it could be done for €80 million, probably be even cheaper now, I know it won't happen, but I'd like it to!!!

The funny thing is that it shouldn't really cost anything like that because its under Iarnrod Eireann's Care and Maintenance programme, which involves the maintenance of the permanent way, removal of trackside vegetation etc. The line should be in excellent condition.

:rolleyes:

simon_24 · 29-02-2012 10:55pm

I had a walk down it the other day....care and maintenence doesn't involve putting heavy metal fencing horizontally a cross the track at Moate station.....hard to get a train through that!!!

starhillroad · 01-03-2012 10:40am

To know the future, one must analyse the past.

The original 1957 Beddy report on C.I.E Rail showed Mullingar-Athlone surviving (the former MGWR Mainline), while the (then) Branch from Portarlington to Athlone was planned to be closed.

I think, personally, it was a case of the old traditional Heuston-Broadstone rivalry coming to the fore to an extent, be it intentional, or by design.

The line between Dublin-Mullingar followed the Royal Canal alignment, and was owned by MGWR, subsequently the GSR, and then after that (obviously) CIE, who then passed it on to the OPW (Office of Public Works) in the early 1980's if I am not mistaken.

According to Irish Railways Traction and Travel, 1987 edition, the line had a 40mph limit. Indeed, it had been subject to a 40mph limit since 'downgrading' in 1974. 1974 being the year that the majority of CIE mainline rail services to the West (Galway and Westport) were transferred from Dublin Pearse (Westland Row) to Dublin Heuston (Kingsbridge).

The old line was quite 'twisty', in fact that is the case between Dublin and Mullingar (50miles - 80 kilometres), the best average speed obtainable on that is 1 hour 15 minutes. Meanwhile, to get the equivalent on the competing counterpart as far as Portarlington, near enough the same mileage, the duration is 50 minutes. Its a 25 minute advantage.

Of course, the world of 1974 is a long way away from that of 2011, but many of the circumstances are similar.

- Rising oil prices
- Recession
- Inflation
- Cutbacks on rail and transport based investment.
- A need to seek economies of scale.

Consequently, while no minister will admit it, it is unlikely that Mullingar to Athlone will ever reopen. But it will be kept in place under 'care and maintainance' so the occasional count councillor, crony and gombeenman can dangle the ould carrot to the voters, to rail enthusiasts, to preservationists, and who knows, the private sector, that it can

"be reopened at minimal expense"

Especially on a slow news day. Thats how it is.

dowlingm · 01-03-2012 5:48pm

The people who mention Athlone West and the town development balance are forgetting Wrong Kong is on the Westmeath side - that will make all the difference :rolleyes:

More seriously, looking at it in Google maps it does seem to have a larger "urban splotch" on the east bank. The would also be a possible problem if Athlone West was painted by some as a "win" for Roscommon and a "loss" for Westmeath.

Looking at it in street view it looks like Athlone West was a pretty impressive edifice. Inside it's probably damp and gloomy I suppose

Our man in Havana · 01-03-2012 8:29pm

The crossing gates look very new on the line. They don't seem to have been weathered that much unless the rest of the equipment.

Mearings · 27-03-2013 12:46am

Deleted. See 'Athlone-Mullingar' below.

demanufactured · 29-03-2013 1:09pm

Will one of ye open the level crossings from athlone to
Mullingar...
I'm in 082 at Athlone midland with a rake of Irish cement wagons...
I'll be coming through moate in notch 8 so stay off the line

Losty Dublin · 29-03-2013 10:22pm

demanufactured wrote: »

Will one of ye open the level crossings from athlone to
Mullingar...
I'm in 082 at Athlone midland with a rake of Irish cement wagons...
I'll be coming through moate in notch 8 so stay off the line

Not a hope. I've possession of the Moate-Streamstown staff with a mixed goods train of heads mutton for Kingstown and a six wheeler full of nuns to draw the Hospital Sweeps Stakes

corktina · 29-03-2013 10:42pm

well, take your time lads as I've all the fishplates off for greasing in Moate,

demanufactured · 30-03-2013 12:05pm

Busy line today....
I made it as far as the distant signal approaching moate. ...
Its been showing at danger all night dammit.

Athlone - Mullingar line

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