Old Railways of Ireland

dennis124wwr

All of the old railways of Ireland

dennis124wwr

Does anyone have the list of the disused railways in Ireland.

mrsoundie

Is it me, but does that picture really capture the effort and fore thought behind railways in Ireland for the last 50 years.

A decrepit old engine with a world weary wagon behind it. We have the shiny stuff now, yet it feels its gone off the rails in a way.

jonniebgood1

The eiretrains website has a lot of images showing railway stations past and present. it also has links to other sites. There are also some users of this website that may point to more comprehensive lists.

dennis124wwr

mrsoundie wrote: »

Is it me, but does that picture really capture the effort and fore thought behind railways in Ireland for the last 50 years.

A decrepit old engine with a world weary wagon behind it. We have the shiny stuff now, yet it feels its gone off the rails in a way.

Why would CIE and Irish Railway just give a railway line away

dennis124wwr

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

The eiretrains website has a lot of images showing railway stations past and present. it also has links to other sites. There are also some users of this website that may point to more comprehensive lists.

www.eiretrains.com

dennis124wwr

What is a passing loop.

tricky D

dennis124wwr wrote: »

What is a passing loop.

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

dennis124wwr wrote: »

Does anyone have the list of the disused railways in Ireland.

Here's a map of the rail system, probably at its height, which might be useful for comparison:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/21686/264482.jpg

mrsoundie

dennis124wwr wrote: »

Why would CIE and Irish Railway just give a railway line away

Simply because the people who get the line would be far more interested in its upkeep and maintenance. I used to live near the West Clare Railway and the effort that they put into it and on a volunteer basis is amazing. Pity that the rest of the rail network was not run with that enthusiasm. So when I see pictures of IE rolling stock, sad, rusted and unloved, I thank the lord for the enthusiast.

Sorry for going off topic.

steamengine

dennis124wwr - Irish Railways by Tom Ferris covers the history of all the railways in Ireland both broad and narrow gauge in a concise manner. ISBN 978-0-7171-4648-2

And here is must read thread for anyone with an interest in railway heritage and preservation.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056070193

Jawgap

dennis124wwr wrote: »

Why would CIE and Irish Railway just give a railway line away

Why wouldn't they?

If they've no further use for it, pass it on to a community organisation for redevelopment as something else.

dennis124wwr

Was anyone in the railway in Tuam.

dennis124wwr

Jawgap wrote: »

Why wouldn't they?

If they've no further use for it, pass it on to a community organisation for redevelopment as something else.

Why would they do that when the railway was new(olden days). You could just close the railway and fence it off.

Judgement Day

dennis124wwr wrote: »

Does anyone have the Beddy Report on CIE Rail.

I can't help feeling that this thread is the wrong forum, you want http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1499 and as for the Beddy Report try the IRRS http://www.irrs.ie/ up at the old goods offices in Heuston Station.

jonniebgood1

Judgement Day wrote: »

I can't help feeling that this thread is the wrong forum, you want http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1499 and as for the Beddy Report try the IRRS http://www.irrs.ie/ up at the old goods offices in Heuston Station.

I dont agree jd. fora have a certain crossover and I find that heritage is somewhat weak currently in this forum. To move a thread about railways would be counter intuitive even if it would fit in elsewhere also. This may look like jealously guarding this patch but thats partly my role.

pedroeibar1

Judgement Day wrote: »

......... try the IRRS http://www.irrs.ie/ up at the old goods offices in Heuston Station.

Anybody know if the IRRS has any records of the GSWR / CIE role in the hotel companies? Thanks.

jonniebgood1

Not sure about where you find the records but it is worth noting the role played by the burgeoning railway network in the development of hotels and tourism in general. One led directly to the other making 'holidaying' an option to a wider number of people. Most major rail junctures saw the development of neighbouring hotels, many of which are still in operation. Take Killarney for example with the current malton hotel being originally the Great Southern hotel adjacent to the Railway station.

Judgement Day

Not to mention the Rosslare Great Southern Hotel.


http://conorcullen.com/tag/great-southern-hotel/

Within the Republic, the entire network of railway hotels was flogged off for half nothing in two distinct tranches and all have suffered to some extent or rather. Even the flagship Great Southern & Western Railway Parknasilla Hotel is in receivership.

dennis124wwr

Is it still there?

pedroeibar1

Judgement Day wrote: »

Not to mention the Rosslare Great Southern Hotel.

Within the Republic, the entire network of railway hotels was flogged off for half nothing in two distinct tranches and all have suffered to some extent or rather. Even the flagship Great Southern & Western Railway Parknasilla Hotel is in receivership.

Thnaks JD but it depends on the era. The Park (GSH Kenmare) was sold back in the late '70's for about €200k, and like a few others went 'cheap' but some, like Galway were sold at the height of the boom - Parknasilla was sold to a McNamara company for about €40m, had about the same amount spent on it and after BOSI put in the receivers it was sold earlier this year for a reputed €11 million. The period I'm interested in for GSH (Glengarriff, Kenmare, Parknasilla, Caragh Lake) is 1920-1950 which is a bit of a void in the sources I've checked.

corktina

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

I dont agree jd. fora have a certain crossover and I find that heritage is somewhat weak currently in this forum. To move a thread about railways would be counter intuitive even if it would fit in elsewhere also. This may look like jealously guarding this patch but thats partly my role.

it's a bit of a mess, the Train and Rail Systems sub-forum should have covered the heritage aspects of railways but is infested with trainspotters (no offence to them , I am one too to an extent, but it does detract from the historical aspects imo) . The problem is all in that title, and the Forum is not what I believe it was intended to be (a kind of virtual Railway Magazine imo)

gobnaitolunacy

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Anybody know if the IRRS has any records of the GSWR / CIE role in the hotel companies? Thanks.

More than likely they would have them. There's wodges of stuff there, stacked to the ceilings, but you would have to know someone on the inside ideally, some lads are quite nice and helpful, others are a bit...strange.

jonniebgood1

The Network in Donegal and an overview are given here
http://www.antraen.com/history.php

It is interesting to see the involvement of the congested district board mentioned in this piece.

jonniebgood1

http://www.donegalrailway.com/cdr-stations/

corktina

Congested District is often construed to mean there were too many people living there.

In fact I believe it means that it is an area where development is frustrated by lack of proper transport links for goods in and out.

Coles

gobnaitolunacy

A little-known short Irish movie featuring the West Clare...A Minute's Wait.

Pt 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTEOvs8VLQ&feature=player_embedded

Pt 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsKbJuoDsg4

Pt 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S4pSS1NhHc

corktina

if I could LIKE that twice, I would.....

nuac

The railway company also built an excellent hotel at Mulranny. Holidays there were promoted, including packages from parts of Britain.

The railway station was just behind the hotel.

The railway company kept on the hotel on after rail services were discontinued c 1937. It was eventually sold on, passed thru a number of hands, was derelict for a time.

It has now been substantially revamped, an indoor swimming pool and other substantial investment added.

The old railway line has been converted into the Western Greenway, bringing new business to this hotel and the rest of the area.

A success story

Judgement Day

nuac wrote: »

The railway company also built an excellent hotel at Mulranny. Holidays there were promoted, including packages from parts of Britain.

The railway station was just behind the hotel.

The railway company kept on the hotel on after rail services were discontinued c 1937. It was eventually sold on, passed thru a number of hands, was derelict for a time.

It has now been substantially revamped, an indoor swimming pool and other substantial investment added.

The old railway line has been converted into the Western Greenway, bringing new business to this hotel and the rest of the area.

A success story

Is the station still derelict?

gobnaitolunacy

Judgement Day wrote: »

Is the station still derelict?

Last time I was talking to someone on that subject a few months ago, it was still in that state.

Judgement Day

The apartments on the platform are an abomination too - a relic of Celtic Tiger madness.

tac foley

If any of you are above in the north at anytime, a visit to the Ulster Museum of Transport is always good craic.

tac

nuac

Judgement Day wrote: »

Is the station still derelict?

Yes, but I understand plans are afoot to renovate it

gobnaitolunacy

tac foley wrote: »

If any of you are above in the north at anytime, a visit to the Ulster Museum of Transport is always good craic.

tac

It's good, albeit they could have made it a bit bigger. Awfully cramped compared to the likes of NRM York.

Judgement Day

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

It's good, albeit they could have made it a bit bigger. Awfully cramped compared to the likes of NRM York.

Still, it's a bit better than our National Transport Museum.

jonniebgood1

Its a running theme in certain aspects of Irish heritage that preservation of same in Ireland leaves a lot to be desired. What do people posting here who have an interest in these things think is the reason for this. I mean specific reasons rather than a moanfest by the way...

I am unsure but I wonder is it some type of link to the colonial nature of some of the heritage infrastructure- The big house was a plantation instrument in Ireland, something to be feared. The same houses in England for example were pillars in their communities in most cases, patrons to local trades and workers. Its a very different perspective for what can sometimes be seen as the same situation. The railways similar, they could be seen as a sign of colonial development in Ireland whereas they are seen as industrial development elsewhere.

Any one got ideas on this?

gobnaitolunacy

jonniebgood1 wrote: »

Its a running theme in certain aspects of Irish heritage that preservation of same in Ireland leaves a lot to be desired. What do people posting here who have an interest in these things think is the reason for this. I mean specific reasons rather than a moanfest by the way...

I am unsure but I wonder is it some type of link to the colonial nature of some of the heritage infrastructure- The big house was a plantation instrument in Ireland, something to be feared. The same houses in England for example were pillars in their communities in most cases, patrons to local trades and workers. Its a very different perspective for what can sometimes be seen as the same situation. The railways similar, they could be seen as a sign of colonial development in Ireland whereas they are seen as industrial development elsewhere.

Any one got ideas on this?

I don't think it was any immediate association with Britain per se is the reason, it's just that Irish people in general seem to have little interest in built or industrial heritage, and if they do, they don't put their money where their mouth is or roll up sleeves and muck in. Volunteerism and altruism in heritage is very much to the fore in the uk. I think railway preservation may be a perculiarly English trait, they do it best after all. I doubt if many of the Little Trains of Wales (nowadays a major tourist attraction) would have survived if it wasn't for a number of quite mad English people with time and money to spare.

Add to that the much smaller population here, transport heritage is very much a niche part of the overall scene.

Also, there was a number of infant and developing preservation schemes in this country that collapsed, for reasons that I won't go into that would take a full scale epic novel to cover that left a bad taste in many mouths.

Some may moan and complain that Irish Rail/CIE should do more...all they should do is facilitate, where possible, preservation efforts by suitable outside groups. Let IR/CIE concentrate on running a modern transport system.