Train stations in Ireland that used to have "refreshment rooms"?

n97 mini

aka a bar where you could buy beer.

I'm trying to compile a list of stations that used to have bars that are now closed. As far as I'm aware the only ones left are Connolly, Heuston and possibly Limerick? (And a privately owned one in Donegal iirc)

I was in the bar in Plunkett Station Waterford in the 1990s though I think it closed shortly afterwards. Ditto Kent Station in Cork. I'm not sure but I think I remember buying a beer in Galway too. Bray was leased out, but closed much more recently as it seemed to be attracting trouble.

I'm sure there are more?

n97 mini

Answering my own question here, but Clones station did before being demolished.

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/nlireland/6382200357/page2/

Del.Monte

Del.Monte

Waterford had the Comeragh Bar or something with a similar name in addition to the buffet.

Until recently (perhaps still extant) was a sign about being licenced to sell spirits over the door of the current waiting room in Claremorris.

Stranorlar on the CDR had a refreshment room too.

n97 mini

^ What year is that from?

Del.Monte

1960.

Del.Monte

The Glanmire Buffet was probably the best one in the country and its replacement by a 'travel centre' comfy office for clerical staff was a disgrace.

Del.Monte

The food in both the Connolly and Heuston restaurant sections was good but not in the main self-service part - the restaurants which the general public were largely unaware of. The last activity in Mallow Buffet was in 1984 when it was specially opened up for a reception on the day No.131 arrived from Dundalk.

Losty Dublin

There's a bar in Belfast Central, though it's obviously not within the CIE network. Of the stations in Dublin four have bars/cafe on site but which are or were operated independently of the station itself, namely Howth, Dun Laoghaire, Bray and Tara Street.

If its any use to you there was a series of articles in the IRRS journals about licence arrangements a few years ago.

highlydebased

No bar in Limerick these days, its a Starbucks now

kildarecommuter

Mullingar closed in 1970s I think, booking office now occupies the area.

man98

Rosslare Harbour's closed in 1995 or so, since then they've moved the station from the ferry terminal.

Del.Monte

There was even a very small bar out on the pier at Rosslare Harbour - anybody remember that? The Mullingar one was called "The Newbrook Buffet" after the nearby racecourse. There was even one in the C&L narrow gauge station in Dromod way, way back.

Del.Monte

I was thinking about this again since and without checking I feel fairly certain that a number of the other Cork termini such as Albert Quay (CBSCR) and Albert Street (Cork, Blackrock & Passage) would have had buffets, possibly Capwell too. Colm Creedon's various books on Cork railways may contain such information. Also Waterford (Manor Street) and possibly Tramore?

Kilkee (aka Dunfail) had a refreshment room for the John Ford's 1956 film "A Minute's Wait" but I suspect that it didn't normally have such a facility - although it might, so it might....:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTEOvs8VLQ

Victor

Before cars and planes, railways were used much more by richer people (only meaningful way to travel over land) and much less than by less well off people (they couldn't afford to travel).

There had actually been a small hotel in Cork Kent, above the buffet: http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,568411,572276,12,9 Albert Quay was much more modest and the other stations even more modest again. The longest trip from Capwell was to Macroom - about 25 miles, which I imagine could be done in under an hour.

There were, of course, several stations that had Great Southern or other hotels attached, e.g. Killarney.

Dún Laoghaire had the restaurant (still running, separately), although it was an important point for trans-Atlantic connections. New York-Manchester via Cobh and Dún Laoghaire was more than a day quicker than via Southampton. And similar savings could be made on New-York-London via Rosslare.

Cobh certainly had first-class tea rooms at a minimum.

n97 mini

man98 wrote: »

Rosslare Harbour's closed in 1995 or so, since then they've moved the station from the ferry terminal.

There is a bar in the ferry terminal (formerly the ferry terminal and train station)... is it closed now too?

Del.Monte

Longford mentioned above.

There was also an hotel in Limerick Junction station - the room numbers were still on some of the doors in the 1980s.

man98

n97 mini wrote: »

There is a bar in the ferry terminal (formerly the ferry terminal and train station)... is it closed now too?

It's closed whenever I'm travelling through the port anyway.

Grandeeod

Del.Monte wrote: »

The Glanmire Buffet was probably the best one in the country and its replacement by a 'travel centre' comfy office for clerical staff was a disgrace.

Many a pint and a bit of nosebag was had by me in the Glanmire. Great spot. Sadly missed. Probably the last of the original experience.

I have childhood memories of the bar/buffet that was in Connolly, but I think it was beginning to go downhill at that stage. Semi circular steps up to it if I'm not mistaken. Used the one in Galway aswell. A sterile kip. Limerick was a nice effort in the early 90s. However my best memories are at Heuston and in adulthood. The greasy spoon cafe and the bar next door full of absolute dipsos. It was always jammed with passengers and "locals". A smoke filled den of enjoyment. I tasted Fosters there for the first time as it was on special offer and served in a branded tankered. Nearly missed the train!

Not a station buffet, but worth a mention from a personal perspective. Early 90s train from castlebar to Dublin one evening. Had lunch that afternoon in a place called the Davitt restaurant (long gone) and by the time we got on the train we were starving. It was only meant to have a snack service despite having the full MK3 restaurant car. We ordered a few cans of draught Guinness (fairly new at the time) and then looked for some grub. The guy in charge was an absolute gentleman and I still remember his name to this day..Rory. He slapped on some chips and nuked those famous burgers in a box. We wolfed it down with more cans on that long trip back east and his great company.

Del.Monte

At Heuston the buffet proper was off Platform.1. it later became a 'brasserie' and went rapidly downhill. In the good old days it had venetian blinds and was not advertised to the public as CIE management liked to use it as a private dining club. Silver service, tableclothes, great grub and the Board always paid....:D

Sic transit gloria mundi!

Grandeeod

Del.Monte wrote: »

At Heuston the buffet proper was off Platform.1. it later became a 'brasserie' and went rapidly downhill. In the good old days it had venetian blinds and was not advertised to the public as CIE management liked to use it as a private dining club. Silver service, tableclothes, great grub and the Board always paid....:D

Sic transit gloria mundi!

Dined in the Footplate Brasserie once! The last time I was there it was being used as an exhibition area for DART UNDERGROUND. So bad luck followed bad luck.:D

Del.Monte

Bet you never had a pint out the pier in Rosslare Harbour - I have vague recollections of it being tiny and I mean it was like a shebeen - perhaps it was.

Grandeeod

Del.Monte wrote: »

Bet you never had a pint out the pier in Rosslare Harbour - I have vague recollections of it being tiny and I mean it was like a shebeen - perhaps it was.

Of course not. Far too young for that one! Best I did was a bottle of Linden Village outside Kellys Hotel. But I can imagine how it was as I walked out there in 1987. Track still there along with buildings as the "new" Europort was on the way.

Look at the place now.

Del.Monte

It's a monument to stupidity. I see Ernie Shepherd launched his new book on the FRRHC down there last week.



http://www.publishingireland.com/events/event/book-launch-fishguard-rosslare-railways-harbours-company/



[IMG]http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/"Snaefell Summit Station - geograph.org.uk - 96234" by Nigel Homer. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons - <a href=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snaefell_Summit_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_96234.jpg#/media/File:Snaefell_Summit_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_96234.jpg target=_blank>[/img]https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snaefell_Summit_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_96234.jpg#/media/File:Snaefell_Summit_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_96234.jpg</a>

Victor

Del.Monte wrote: »

Bet you never had a pint out the pier in Rosslare Harbour - I have vague recollections of it being tiny and I mean it was like a shebeen - perhaps it was.

Railway refreshment rooms don't need an alcohol licence, so not a shebeen.

n97 mini

Victor wrote: »

Railway refreshment rooms don't need an alcohol licence, so not a shebeen.

They actually do need a licence, renewable every year at a cost (like a pub) which I suspect aided their disappearance. The difference is the licence is automatically granted to railway refreshment rooms, it's not to other buildings.

Edit; all trains which serve alcohol also need to renew their licence, at a cost, annually.

Peregrinus

Grandeeod wrote: »

. . . I tasted Fosters there for the first time . . .

That's not a good thing, Grandeeod.

Grandeeod

Peregrinus wrote: »

That's not a good thing, Grandeeod.

At the time it was exotic!:D

tabbey

Just a few points;
Perusing Dublin licensing registers in the National Archives some years ago, railway refreshment rooms were very prominent, probably as managers changed.
The restaurant on platform 2 in Heuston station always tempted me, with its leaded windows, and the aroma of proper food. Alas, by the time I got around to using it, it had closed.
The Glanmire buffet in Cork stations was also a pleasant experience, with its railway crests from around the world, although I always thought some of the latter were spurious.

This topic brings us to a more serious matter, the availability, or lack of it,of meal service on long distance trains. Not so long ago, you could get proper meals on board, giving rail a competitive advantage, compared with road transport, where people had to break their journey to dine, or allow time for eating, before or after the journey. Today, rail passengers take a snack on the train, then have to allow time at their destination, for meals, the same as the motorists who enjoy faster journeys on the motorway.
Bring back dining cars.

Peregrinus

Grandeeod wrote: »

At the time it was exotic!:D

So? As I say, that's not a good thing. Ebola virus disease is exotic.

Del.Monte

Portarlington station also had refreshment rooms.
http://www.industrialheritageireland.info/TikiWiki/tiki-index.php?page=Portarlington+Station

Ballinasloe almost certainly also had something - even if only in connection with the Horse Fair.

L1011

Some of the stations in towns or suburbs could probably have some business for 'refreshment rooms' operating basically as pubs, I'd imagine. Would require the kind of thinking that Irish Rail don't have, though (and which other railways do - DSB in Denmark is a franchiser for shops it runs itself rather than renting them out, and so on)

n97 mini

L1011 wrote: »

Some of the stations in towns or suburbs could probably have some business for 'refreshment rooms' operating basically as pubs, I'd imagine. Would require the kind of thinking that Irish Rail don't have, though (and which other railways do - DSB in Denmark is a franchiser for shops it runs itself rather than renting them out, and so on)

The amount of stations across the water with pubs is enough to warrant a book about the unusual ones alone!

Losty Dublin

n97 mini wrote: »

They actually do need a licence, renewable every year at a cost (like a pub) which I suspect aided their disappearance. The difference is the licence is automatically granted to railway refreshment rooms, it's not to other buildings.

Edit; all trains which serve alcohol also need to renew their licence, at a cost, annually.

Pretty much on the ball, sir. There are two main different legal permissions available to them depending on what sort of terms they wish to trade. The long accepted tradition of their serving drink to those traveling are based on what are termed exemptions which were provided for under various Transport Acts; these allowed for them to serves outside regular hours. To serve drink those who aren't traveling still requires traditional pub licences; most station bars have both for handiness sake.

There are a few obscure laws under which bar licences can be issued; one was availed of in Donegal a few years ago.

L1011

n97 mini wrote: »

The amount of stations across the water with pubs is enough to warrant a book about the unusual ones alone!

A rail-ale-trail is always something on my list of things to eventually do, along with the Caledonian Sleeper (fly back from INV)

Extremely limited weekend service makes some of the published ones pretty difficult though

LXFlyer

L1011 wrote: »

A rail-ale-trail is always something on my list of things to eventually do, along with the Caledonian Sleeper (fly back from INV)

Extremely limited weekend service makes some of the published ones pretty difficult though

Far better to do the sleeper in the other direction, and I would also go from Fort William towards Euston (and in the summer) - depart at 19:50 and have dinner as you cross Rannoch Moor and enjoy the scenery.

The Chieftain

n97 mini wrote: »

There is a bar in the ferry terminal (formerly the ferry terminal and train station)... is it closed now too?

I believe so, very sad looking last time I was there, a few years ago.

n97 mini

Losty Dublin wrote: »

To serve drink those who aren't traveling still requires traditional pub licences; most station bars have both for handiness sake.

This isn't bourne out by the Revenue's liquor licence register, published monthly.

The only licences attached to train stations on the register are Publican's Ordinary Railway Refreshment Rooms Licences and the following stations have those licences:
Oakfiled Demense, Raphoe
Hartley's Restaurant, Dun Laoghaire Station
The Bloody Stream, Howth Station
The Oslo Partnership, Connolly Station
Sublounge, Tara Street Station
The Galway Hooker, Heuston Station

While I'm surprised at some entries, none of those have a regular pub licence.

loyatemu

there was a bar in Bray station until a couple of years ago, forget the name, it was never very busy possibly because there are several better pubs within a 5 minute walk.

n97 mini

I don't see it on the public register so it's probable it's not licensed atm. I do remember there was a lot of trouble in it which lead to its demise.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Losty Dublin

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Licenses and exempions issued under the Transport acts allow them to serve to nomadic me passengers at any time provided that trains are running, Christmas Day and Good Friday included. Regular bar licences allow them to serve non passengers and at times when no trains are running, subject to lawful hours.

bren2002

Was going to suggest bray too. But a long the dart I can think of a few there's the bloody stream in howth, there's one in Tara St too.

highdef

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Licenses and exempions issued under the Transport acts allow them to serve to nomadic me passengers at any time provided that trains are running, Christmas Day and Good Friday included. Regular bar licences allow them to serve non passengers and at times when no trains are running, subject to lawful hours.

So in theory, I could have a pint or two in The Bloody Stream on any given Good Friday (or any of the other aforementioned pubs......in theory?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

GM228

Fred Swanson wrote: »

If you have a ticket to a destination at least 30 miles away.

It's any passenger arriving from or going to a destination which is 10 miles away or more, not 30.

Another interesting one to note is a person who has a ship ticket can also buy alcohol in a train station if the ship journey was/will be at least 50 miles.

Losty Dublin

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The distance seems to vary depending on whomever it is who tells the story. The book on the Harcourt line recounts a story whereby a ticket to Bray covered you and was used by Behan (I think and will check this out when I get home.) to dodge restrictions regarding Holy Hour

GM228

Losty Dublin wrote: »

The distance seems to vary depending on whomever it is who tells the story.

Indeed it does, but the distance is 10 miles (as per legislation).

n97 mini

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I need to look it up again, but it's not as high as 30. That railway in Raphoe wouldn't be long enough.

EDIT: I think it might be 6.

GM228

Fred Swanson wrote: »

I assume such licences allow them to serve earlier than normal pubs?

There are no time limits on serving alcohol in train stations (or onboard trains).

Fred Swanson wrote: »

If you have a ticket to a destination at least 30 miles away.

n97 mini wrote: »

I need to look it up again, but it's not as high as 30. That railway in Raphoe wouldn't be long enough.

EDIT: I think it might be 6.

Not 30 or 6, it's 10 miles with a train ticket (or 50 miles with a ship ticket) as I stated already.

14.—Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to prohibit or restrict—

(a) the sale at any time at a railway station of intoxicating liquor on arrival or departure of trains to passengers who have travelled or hold tickets entitling them to travel on those trains for a distance of not less than ten miles to or from such railway station

The ship ticket seems to be the one nobody is aware of.

n97 mini

GM228 wrote: »

Not 30 or 6, it's 10 miles with a train ticket (or 50 miles with a ship ticket) as I stated already.

No mention of the ticket needing to be current either!