Some old Dublin photos (including transport)

josephgriffin

Folks some beautys here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=238138128203&view=all





Includes old buses and trams. Spot the tram going up strand road in sandymount..

Rockshamrover

Very nice, an awful lot of pictures there.

My Mother and father worked in the Royal. One of the pictures looked like the demolition of the Royal. Or am I mistaken?

bmaxi

Excellent stuff. It was interesting, in photo 54, to see the buses and trams together on O'Connell Bridge. Incidentally the yellow bus on Eden Quay was probably a G.N.R. bus, possibly a 44a to Mt. Prospect Ave. G.N.R. ran several services to the North and East of the city.

Jip

There's some fascinating photos there, in the coloured ones it always seems to be sunny and warm and really reminds me of when I was a kid visiting the city centre.

What's the hell is this about ?

lord lucan

Swastika laundry in Ballsbridge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika_Laundry

paulm17781

Jip wrote: »

What's the hell is this about ?

There's more to Swastikas than just Nazis.

Jip

I am fully aware of that and know the origins of the swastika, but this picture looks like it's post WW2 when all things nazi related were no-no. Lord Lucan answered my question, it's been around since 1912.

loyatemu

dodgy symbol aside - what a cool van!

trad

Interesting with the horse drawn trams they go up on the left, down on the right, (right hand drive in cars) I thought this only came with the motor car.

Tabnabs

Wonderful photo

and very famously taken in London!

FlameoftheWest

paulm17781 wrote: »

There's more to Swastikas than just Nazis.

Indeed was a spiritual symbol long before the Austrian midget showed us. This old Dublin company was around before the Nazi. They had a chimmney stack in Dundrim with the logo which was there until the early 80's or so I have been told.

silverharp

Here is a nice one of sandymount village

FlameoftheWest

What a spectacular collection. Thanks OP for posting these.

This is my favourite. There is history complete.

ardmacha

Pardon my ignorance, but where is this pic taken?

lord lucan

ardmacha wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance, but where is this pic taken?

Thats the Hill of Howth tram on the overbridge at Howth Train Station. The bridge is gone now but the abutments still remain. The tram came down the hill (from right to left in the pic) into a tram terminus beside Howth station.

Jip

FlameoftheWest wrote: »

This is my favourite.

That one particularly caught my eye too.

bmaxi

lord lucan wrote: »

Thats the Hill of Howth tram on the overbridge at Howth Train Station. The bridge is gone now but the abutments still remain. The tram came down the hill (from right to left in the pic) into a tram terminus beside Howth station.

Indeed, happy memories. The terminus was actually next to Sutton station. It was a great treat for us kids to ride the tram and the old GNR railcars which made a sound like a stick in the spokes of a wheel.

lord lucan

bmaxi wrote: »

Indeed, happy memories. The terminus was actually next to Sutton station. It was a great treat for us kids to ride the tram and the old GNR railcars which made a sound like a stick in the spokes of a wheel.

You'll probably enjoy this if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.europafilmtreasures.eu/PY/261/see-the-film-once_upon_a_tram

FlameoftheWest

bmaxi wrote: »

Indeed, happy memories. The terminus was actually next to Sutton station. It was a great treat for us kids to ride the tram and the old GNR railcars which made a sound like a stick in the spokes of a wheel.

Apparently it was profitable until the day it closed while the Howth Rail Branch was a loss maker except for a paint factory which had tins delivered from Belfast. That closed in the late 60's bits of the tracks are still there.

They should of kept the tram and modernised it. It served more of the community on the head itself as well as everything in between. Connected with the train at Sutton. Yet they closed that and electrified the rail branch 20 years later.

There was just this thing that "it was a tram so it had to go..." It would be a major tourist attaction and packed with commuters if still there today.

FlameoftheWest

Jip wrote: »

That one particularly caught my eye too.

There is sadness about it. More melacholy than depressing.

bmaxi

FlameoftheWest wrote: »

Apparently it was profitable until the day it closed while the Howth Rail Branch was a loss maker except for a paint factory which had tins delivered from Belfast. That closed in the late 60's bits of the tracks are still there.

They should of kept the tram and modernised it. It served more of the community on the head itself as well as everything in between. Connected with the train at Sutton. Yet they closed that and electrified the rail branch 20 years later.

There was just this thing that "it was a tram so it had to go..." It would be a major tourist attaction and packed with commuters if still there today.

Yes it's an irony that they couldn't get rid of the trams fast enough and then spent billions reintroducing them. Even into my teens I remember tracks on the roads particularly around Fairview. Still, I suppose Dublin was not unique in this policy.

Spamjavelin

Anyone here got any pics of Portland Row as I lived in Number 9 till 1974 before CPO bought it there used to be a scrap yard right beside us and Annie's Pig Farm up from that she also sold mobile homes off the waste land

Losty Dublin

FlameoftheWest wrote: »

Apparently it was profitable until the day it closed while the Howth Rail Branch was a loss maker except for a paint factory which had tins delivered from Belfast. That closed in the late 60's bits of the tracks are still there.

They should of kept the tram and modernised it. It served more of the community on the head itself as well as everything in between. Connected with the train at Sutton. Yet they closed that and electrified the rail branch 20 years later.

There was just this thing that "it was a tram so it had to go..." It would be a major tourist attaction and packed with commuters if still there today.

Sorry to refer back to this up a year later but any informed pieces I ever read on the Howth tram (Notably R Clifton Flewitts book of 1968) always made the point of the fact that the Howth Tram never made a profit in it's almost 60 year history. As an aside of note, the replacement bus services were also a loss maker. They were offered to tender in 1963 by CIE; no operator were interested and CIE were left to carry the route on.

steamengine

lord lucan wrote: »

Thats the Hill of Howth tram on the overbridge at Howth Train Station. The bridge is gone now but the abutments still remain. The tram came down the hill (from right to left in the pic) into a tram terminus beside Howth station.

I was there one of the days the cast iron upright columns were being removed, sometime around 1960, I think. The funny thing was there was also an old man regaling us with stories on how he had been there when they were originally put in. The upright columns were originally bolted in position, and according to our 'man', had sat on a wooden gasket/ring and this had rotted away over time.

The old alignment can still be walked up to the summit, access is directly across from the station. Some houses have since been built across the alignment at Balkhill, you have to skirt round them to pick up the trail again. You'd think it would be signposted from the station, but i couldn't see any sign at all. The exit/entrance at the summit is directly opposite the pub. Buzzed down the alignment by bike a few weeks ago, it's a bit overgrown in places, but some good views of the harbour, lambay etc are to had. Check your brakes before you take off, as no pedalling is required on the way down.

A lot of maintenance was required at the time to keep the H of H tram going - GNR was also cash strapped. Somehow or other it should have been preserved as a tourist attraction, but just like the extensive Dublin tram network it met it's fate. Other countries like Portugal kept their ancient city tram systems, which add great character to their cities - Lisbon and Opporto.

Judgement Day

The Hill of Howth tram went the same way as any other 'odd' system that CIE inherited - Waterford & Tramore (isolated), County Donegal Rlys (yes even here the dead hand of CIE had a hand in its ultimate closure).

Dublin Zoo, Nelson's Pillar and the Hill of Howth tram were the three main 'must do' things for the visitor to Dublin. That the tramway has never been rebuilt, and No.9. languishs in a hay shed at Howth Castle says all you need to know about why Ireland is a joke when it comes to tourism. :mad:

AlekSmart

paulm17781 wrote: »

There's more to Swastikas than just Nazis.

I think that Swastika Laundry Van photo is from a film set of a somewhat more recent vintage...?
Are the buildings around Grangegorman ?

vektarman

AlekSmart wrote: »

I think that Swastika Laundry Van photo is from a film set of a somewhat more recent vintage...?
Are the buildings around Grangegorman ?

The buildings look similar to buildings in Grangegorman alright although it seems more like an actual army barracks, I remember those swastika electric vans were still running up to the late 1960'sand the Raleigh 20 bike against the wall is certainly from the late '60's, the army truck is an anomaly though as it's looks like an early 1950's model, it's quite possible though that the army were still using those old trucks up to the late 1960's.

Judgement Day

AlekSmart wrote: »

I think that Swastika Laundry Van photo is from a film set of a somewhat more recent vintage...?
Are the buildings around Grangegorman ?

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2011/07/06/remember-the-swastika-laundry-van-in-ballsbridge-post-yesterday/

Losty Dublin

vektarman wrote: »

The buildings look similar to buildings in Grangegorman alright although it seems more like an actual army barracks

It looks rather like it's taken in Griffith Barracks; head in the main gate and you should be at the spot.

http://www.gcc.ie/files/20051003041557_campus2.jpg

Judgement Day

Link here to "Once Upon a Tram" a 1958 film shot on the Hill of Howth tram - enough to make a grown man, or woman, cry.

http://www.europafilmtreasures.eu/PY/261/see-the-film-once_upon_a_tram'