Where would make the best location for a preservation railway?

murphaph

Hi all,
Where would you open a heritage railway if money was no object? Where would it be practical and where would provide the most scenic journies?

I was in Cultra for the first time yesterday and while it was lovely to see some fine locomotives being preserved (better than CIE, to their shame, have ever managed) it was saddening to see the likes of Maedhbh as a static display when really such a fine and historic engine should be running somewhere.

So, imagine you won the Euromillions and could sidestep political interference and bitchiness, where would you (re)open your heritage line and what would you have running on it?

corktina

its a bit unfair to knock CIE seeing as Maeve(bh) was a gift from CIE and several of the othert locos preserved would not have been without CIEs involvement.In fairness, it is the Government of the day that were to blame for their not being a Republic Railway Museum not CIEs. It just wasnt their job

Having said that,anywhere would be a good location....near to Dublin would make sense.

L1011

Decent sized branch, connected to an operating mainline somewhere close enough to Dublin.

Edenderry or Ardee would be most logical but I believe the Ardee trackbed is in part subsumed and otherwise always directly adjacent to the N33 so it wouldn't be that interesting. I'm not personally aware of what would stop Edenderry being viable but I suspect there is some buildings or similar in the way (and the M4).

Cookie_Monster

Greystones to Bray would be ideal IMO.

Judgement Day

Somewhere East of the Bann but if I won the Euro millions I wouldn't waste my time on an Irish project. Something far more worthwhile, that would actually be supported and appreciated, would be the rebuilding of the Lynton & Barnstaple http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/ or the rebuilding of the Douglas/Peel line on the Isle of Man.

corktina

Claremorris to cooloooney!

Tarabuses

Judgement Day wrote: »

Somewhere East of the Bann but if I won the Euro millions I wouldn't waste my time on an Irish project. Something far more worthwhile, that would actually be supported and appreciated, would be the rebuilding of the Lynton & Barnstaple http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/ or the rebuilding of the Douglas/Peel line on the Isle of Man.

But surely the reason the Douglas/Peel line on the Isle of Man closed was because it wasn't being supported?

Drimnagh Road

There was a "Heritage Railway" group set up a few years ago to investigate this.

Some of the groups initial updates can be found here, although the last update was in Jan 2011, so I assume the project is as dead as the Metro.

I think some of their members defected to the RPSI where there was actually a realistic opportunity to contribute something worthwhile to the Irish Railway heritage scene.

Judgement Day

Tarabuses wrote: »

But surely the reason the Douglas/Peel line on the Isle of Man closed was because it wasn't being supported?

Apart from that being factually incorrect what has it to do with whether or not it would be a good location for a preserved railway? Don't bother replying as it will only derail the thread further than my original post did.

lord lucan

Drogheda - Navan when the Tara traffic finishes would be perfect or Mullingar - Athlone. Both have connections with the mainline and are reasonable travelling distance from Dublin.

CIE

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Greystones to Bray would be ideal IMO.

Make that Bray to Shillelagh.

steamengine

lord lucan wrote: »

Drogheda - Navan when the Tara traffic finishes would be perfect or Mullingar - Athlone. Both have connections with the mainline and are reasonable travelling distance from Dublin.

And OP asked what we would have running on it - 071's and MKIII's. Nothing like a good pipe dream !!!

lord lucan

steamengine wrote: »

And OP asked what we would have running on it - 071's and MKIII's. Nothing like a good pipe dream !!!

Now you're talkin'! Pity an 071 would be wasted due to speed restrictions but it would still be an impressive spectacle. They could even build a loco shed at the old Platin factory sidings to display loco's not in service.

I'll wake up from this dream eventually but i'll enjoy it while it lasts.;)

Cookie_Monster

CIE wrote: »

Make that Bray to Shillelagh.

aye, top o' the mornin to ye.

It'd certainly attract the Sterotypical yank tourists looking for the quaint Irish town

CIE

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

aye, top o' the mornin to ye.

It'd certainly attract the Sterotypical yank tourists looking for the quint Irish town

Certainly would...but I don't expect even a tourist railway operator to reopen the Shillelagh branch notwithstanding, even to turn the town into a tourist trap; it'd have to do some running onto IE tracks to be worthwhile.

demanufactured

Athlone - mullingar
With 071s, 141 and 142, and the last remaining 121 thats down in clare.

corktina

demanufactured wrote: »

Athlone - mullingar
With 071s, 141 and 142, and the last remaining 121 thats down in clare.

might have a useful transport and diversionary function too!

Judgement Day

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

aye, top o' the mornin to ye.

It'd certainly attract the Sterotypical yank tourists looking for the quaint Irish town

Bray! :rolleyes:

Cookie_Monster

Bray! :rolleyes:

That would be of more interest to thrill seekers and adrenalin junkies :pac:

CaptainSkidmark

youghal-midleton

roundymac

Limerick-Ballybrophy when it closes or Waterford-Rosslare. Both these lines while a distance from Dublin can be reached by mainline services. Both lines are at a working standard, while Mullingar, Kingscourt and some of the other lines mentioned hav'nt been used in years and would require significant investment just to get a train on them, never mind the other infastructure and costs that would be required.

parsi

Limerick to Foynes with special mention of the section through Weston.

roundymac

parsi wrote: »

Limerick to Foynes with special mention of the section through Weston.

Cost too much to repair the viaduct.:cool:

dowlingm

CaptainSkidmark wrote: »

youghal-midleton

Midleton Distillery at one end, the seaside at t'other? Might be something in that.

One of the things that prevented Youghal from being reopened was the notion that too many sets would be required to maintain a given service interval. However, what if the Midleton-Youghal part was not an all day service?

Suppose Youghal station was rebuilt with enough resources to start two trains in the morning. These would then run into town through Midleton, leaving that section clear at around 8.30 or so. The preserved railway could then get its gear going with free movement on the section, perhaps arriving into a platform east of the mainline station so that there would be no interference with IE operations. At around 5pm they would have to close down for the day and the two evening services ex Cork could arrive in and stay overnight.

It's all pie in the sky and never happen but sure we're talking about preserved railways - isn't it all? :D:D

Run_to_da_hills

Docklands station would be an ideal location for a museum.