Tralee to Fenit Greenway

kingdumb wrote: »

That's great news, when do expect clearance work to start on the Bracker o'Reagan to Fenit and Rock Street to the Train Station sections to begin ?

I just had a look at that latter part of the track and I now have to say that I do no longer think this will ever happen. The short path between Edward Street and the Big River (behind An Sean Mhuíleann) shouldn't cause any problems, but at least at the moment it doesn't seem to be a realistic possibility to follow the old line from there any further towards the Rock Street crossing.
I see two reasons for that: there is no longer any bridge over the Big River other than the one used by Dunnes as a storage area. This one doesn't seem to have been part of the old track and it is now separated by a high wall from the area where the track should have been. So a new bridge would have to be built. Certainly possible, but not ideal:




The second bigger problem is that the old track has actually been built on right behind the wall from the Dunnes car park. There is now at least one building and possibly a number of sheds directly on the tracks that can easily be seen from Rock street. I think the first one here belongs to the play school next to the Dunnes back entrance, more may be behind some of the houses on the south side of Casement Avenue. Interestingly they are not visible on the current Google maps imagery, so they must be rather new. I tried to snap a picture with my phone over the wall:


Some residents of Casement Avenue have incorporated the track into their back gardens and erected walls on the track between their properties, also quite recently as can be seen on Google Streetview:
http://maps.google.ie/?ll=52.273438,-9.704167&spn=0.00071,0.002064&t=h&layer=c&cbll=52.273487,-9.704247&panoid=9pPjwW2TUH9TXqMP5viIOg&cbp=12,6.8,,1,0.88&z=20

Although I would very much like the track to go straight through to the train station I can't see the council confronting those landowners. Infact, they seem to have already built a way around that "problem". I just spotted a new footpath along the big river (not the one on the CBS-side!) which goes around the small green area a the end of Casement Avenue, then follows the Big River up to the existing pedestrian bridge and then again turns right onto the path on the other side of the river they built two or three years ago. From there the path can easily break through onto the last stretch of old track towards the train station. So it seems they want to use Casement Avenue between Rock Street and the Big River instead of the original rail track. More pictures of the new path:

The second bigger problem is that the old track has actually been built on right behind the wall from the Dunnes car park. There is now at least one building and possibly a number of sheds directly on the tracks that can easily be seen from Rock street. I think the first one here belongs to the play school next to the Dunnes back entrance, more may be behind some of the houses on the south side of Casement Avenue. Interestingly they are not visible on the current Google maps imagery, so they must be rather new. I tried to snap a picture with my phone over the wall:

If they are relatively new then it's most probable they are trespassing and can be cleared relatively handy?

Some residents of Casement Avenue have incorporated the track into their back gardens and erected walls on the track between their properties, also quite recently as can be seen on Google Streetview:
http://maps.google.ie/?ll=52.273438,...8,,1,0.88&z=20

I wonder have some people along the first few houses extended their gardens in the hope that no one was ever gonna come looking to open the rail line again? Really cheeky if thats the case and if I were Kerry Co Co I'd be asking a few questions about owenership. No way I'd be going aroudn the long way anyways, of course it could have been sold to them but it certainly looks that only a couple took up and option to extend their gardens - funny enough they are ones with large extensions in the back of the house !!

Interestingly they are not visible on the current Google maps imagery, so they must be rather new.

Not on Google Earth either - infact it shows that the wall at garden end runs parallel to the Dunnes Wall, yet in your pics it deffo shows they are attached to the Dunnes Wall !

Kinda sad the tracks are being lifted. Last link to an older time.

kingdumb wrote: »

This section of the line is outlined in the active town development plan to be developed as a cycleway !

Exactly, and it has been there for good reason. I am also very interested to hear why on earth that should change. Maybe some unexpected problems with the owners of residential properties in Casement Ave.?

^What he said!! Lol!

kingdumb wrote: »

Any idea of what they would be worth carchaeologist ?

I would say that would be about right, good weight in those rails.
I would have bought a digger and dug them out myself if I had known that!:cool:
Still though, €50k is a bit strong for what is basically just a clearance job, I wonder is all the money paying for the pathway laying too?

Apparently this was the same guy who was blocking the line only a few months ago !

Good to see this some things haven't changed in this country.

If those tracks were really worth that much, that's not too bad for 5/6 days work eh.

carchaeologist wrote: »

I was told that the guys clearing the pathway got paid with the rails.
Any truth in that I wonder.
All those rails would be worth a tidy sum of shillings.

kingdumb wrote: »

The part VIII planning application was submitted to Tralee Town Council for the Tralee urban part of the route.

And they haven't been idle in the meantime. Pipe-laying on the track is now almost finished:

Just spotted on radiokerry.ie/news:

radiokerry.ie wrote:

15 Jun 2012
Limerick rail-trail to be extended to Kerry border

Efforts to extend the Great Southern Trail from Limerick to Kerry have received a boost.
€290,000 is to be spent on the extension by Limerick County Council
The disused railway is being gradually redeveloped as a recreational walking and cycling track.
Group walks are regularly held along the 22-mile stretch from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale.
The new fund will see the track extended to the Kerry border at Barnagh.
The Great Southern Trail committee has welcomed the new grant and expressed its hope that Kerry County Council would develop the trail in Kerry.
The disused line runs through Kilmorna, Listowel, Lixnaw, Abbeydorney, Ardfert and Traleee.
It links up with the Tralee-Fenit line which is being developed as a greenway walk.

Great news!