226 Abhann na Suire

I was looking at this the other day actually, in terms of the All Island Rail Review, and the plans there for a Maynooth to Lucan Rail link seem like a very viable option for bringing certain Sligo express and other trains off of what will become a very congested route with DART+ West. Heuston Station is the best option for routing extra traffic, I don’t see much sense in rerouting all ex-MGWR services to Connolly, especially with the fact that the Maynooth line can only become more congested and beyond Liffey Junction, the viaducted line leaves no scope at all for capacity upgrades. Between Parkwest and Heuston however, there is definitely space for quad-tracking, even trebling at the very least, and with all of the car park space and old goods sidings out the side of Heuston, the potential to stick a few extra platforms on the side of the station to cope for extra traffic is very much there. Allowing Sligo line services to come off the Maynooth line and into Heuston would not only be a capacity no brainier - there being (hopefully in the future) 4 tracks all the way between Hazelhatch (maybe eventually Kildare) and Heuston - but would also help to further centralise our rail network. I’ve also had a look on maps and it seems there is space for quad-tracking of the northern line out of Connolly, can someone clarify this..? No one has mentioned it so far, but I feel someone has to… DART Underground (or DART+ Tunnel as the Review calls it…) would also potentially help capacity as the tunnels I believe are planned to dive, right where the quadruple track ends, after Parkwest, with the two inner slow lines being diverted underground. This would mean that all commuter services would be diverted to a new Underground station at Heuston with the potential to carry on through to another new Underground station at Connolly. Surely this would be helpful for eating capacity here and potentially remove the need for 4 tracking the rest of the way to Heuston… This could also mean that the potential Ballyfermot/Kylemore station could be an underground one, not causing any interference with mainline services. I’d love to dig deeper (pun very much intended) into the topic of DART Underground and the potential of Underground railways in Dublin and the rest of the country, but this post is long enough as it is so I’ll hold off for the moment… Of course realistically, this is all veeery hypothetical but I do really hope that the government bite the bullet and listen to the Rail Review’s recommendations, they really do just make a lot of sense

News on the new Woodbrook Station between Shankill and Bray, the first sod has been dug! Now we just have to wait for some sort of unexpected archaeological discovery, a giant rise in the cost of the project thanks to inflation, and a massive general delay and hopefully we’ll see the station open before the turn of the century…

Yes ok I see, thanks for clearing that all up JB, just a shame that the offering of preserved broad gauge steam locos that could operate such railways is so small but we’ll get there eventually. I know that the RPSI have plans to scratch build an NCC Mogul with the spare boiler they have for No. 4 and even the Maam Cross project list building a brand new steam loco as one of their long term goals! An MGWR E Class/J26 would be so gorgeous for Maam Cross and surely would be very adorable to run (as well as being my favourite tank engine possibly ever) and would also be prototypical, having i think occasionally reached the far extremities of the Midland Great Western out to Connemara! Just a shame none of them (and the Tramore Railway on which they latterly ran…) were saved

And is there any And is there any scope for a cheaper wood or oil burning option, or is the costing still much the same? Dare we even hark back to the days of the post-war turf-burning initiative… the speed restriction that resulted in near 12 hour journeys between Dublin and Cork would be perfectly suitable for a heritage line… I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic when it comes to Ireland’s railways, preserved or otherwise (I think it’s impossible not to be…!) and I just think it’d be such a shame for 186 to never steam again.

Have just been pondering lately about the fate, if any, of the ex-GSWR and RPSI J15s, I believe they are on store currently and that 186 still has its boiler cert if that’s correct…? While very unprototypical, would Maam Cross or Downpatrick be a potentially suitable home for either of them?? Maam Cross, with its proposed 11 miles of rail would be a great place for 186 to stretch its… legs…? And would surely make for a magnificent site. Seems an awful waste to see two perfectly good (or at least one definitely) steam locos gathering dust in Cultra or Whitehead…

Was on the train into Dublin the other day and was pleasantly surprised to pass Kishogue all covered in temporary fencing on the platforms with lots of the weeds and vegetation that had grown, seemingly removed. I’ve seen as well that the new route map signs on the platforms of the Kildare suburban route stations feature Kishogue on them. Similarly, Woodbrook is advertised on the respective route maps in all the DART stations. Just thought it might be nice to have an thread for updates on both of these projects and any new ones, like the new/reopened stations proposed for the Cork area like Blarney, Blackpool, Tivolli, etc. Does anyone have any info on any of these at all?

Looking fantastic ttc!! It really is some job you’re all doing up there and I wish I could take part in some way but sadly the Leaving Cert doesn’t leave a lot of time for it! I have to ask if you hand a timeframe for the laying of the standard-gauge track? How much narrow gauge track do ye have laid in full so far and how much do you plan on laying in the future? Thanks and well well done to you all, you really are all doing god’s work!!

That’s amazing!! I’d heard of a Set being on loan to IÉ to tide over the period before the new DART stock was in service but never knew they got down as far as Thomastown, let alone Cork! Fascinating stuff!! As much as I love our rail network today, I do often wish I was alive for those halcyon days between the 60s and 80s…

That’s another one I’d love to do actually, very close to home and another very interesting Station layout! Scratch-building the elevated signal box would be an intriguing project to take on as well!

JB, surely you’re talking about Armagh and not Thomastown..???

Armagh would be a fabulous one actually Patrick… you’d have to win the lotto and by an entire warehouse to do it justice I think! My dream Layout (Irish based anyway) would probably be a fictional tailchaser with the classic freight yards, main station and branch line, viaduct etc etc, but I’ve always wanted to model Thomastown in the 80s or 90s, there was a great range of rolling stock that went through, 071s, 201s, 121s, 141s, with a range of coaching stock, I believe that Ferts and Magnesite or Gypsum stuff went through too, along with the obvious Liners and Timber and I think even the ‘Arrow’ 2700s got as far as Thomastown too so there’s nice scope for interesting rolling stock while being a simple enough layout - the viaduct would look spectacular if I could pull it off in model form too!

That’s a very good point irishrailways but I suppose if Stadler ‘Flirt’ family units are being proposed for the service, a great thing about a lot of that family of stock, specifically the Bi-Modes operating for Greater Anglia in the UK is the central power unit which is separate from the rest of the train which would remove the vibrations too. My personal biggest fear is in fact the takeover of ‘ironing board’ seats, even the mock-up and artist impressions of the new DART stock shows something that looks similar to those awful seats and I think to refurnish the Enterprise with new seats that would be such a far cry from the luxury - even standard class - of the current DeDietrich stock would be almost a crime! The new DARTs are just about getting away with it but even now that that’s operating longer-distance journeys now, the lack of comfortable seating would be a sharp downturn for IÉ’s supposed customer satisfaction goals. A complete side note but I also personally think it wouldn’t hurt to put one small toilet per 5-car DART unit given that they’ll be operating some journeys that are well over 2 hours and are trying to replace stock that already has toilets? I presume there is a very good answer to this that someone will inform me of, but the thought had just crossed my mind. Thanks all

Here’s some shots I got of 074 marshalling the train at Connolly and running around the Cravens set and then the railtour with 131 at the helm seen steaming through Killiney only minutes before it’s failure so I’m told…

Yeah hahaha it was quite the eventful day I suppose… managed to see it come through Killiney still in steam but not looking the healthiest so I thought some bad news was on the way…

Thanks a million, that’s a great help. Is 131 not starting the journey in Connolly? Hopefully we get smooth sailing this year unlike the last few runs that steam engines have had over the Wexford line!

Hi all, Was thinking of popping out to see No. 131 on the RPSI’s ‘Sea Breeze’ railtour from Dublin Connolly to Enniscorthy on Sunday August 20th and I’m just wondering if anyone might have any info on the movements surrounding the railtour, about carriage transfers, loco transfers or anything. Any info would be appreciated. Regards, Oisín

Spotted it this morning in Waterford Sallypark Yard behind an 071 and with a 40ft Liner Flat either side. Not sure if this was general testing or related to the new second track they’re laying through Ferrybank (on the Rosslare side of the current station) for the new station

I think Galway/Athenry to Tuam/Claremorris/Westport has great potential opportunity as a railway, maybe not as good as other projects in the country which should get priority, like some of the capacity improvements mentioned already, but I personally think the reopening of the line further from Claremorris to Collooney and Sligo is just nonsense. The trackbed is much too overgrown and even completely built upon by towns in many areas and the work required to bring it back into use would wayyyyy outweigh the benefits it would have when in use. Yes railways are the way forward, but there’s no point in trying to bring a small number of passengers from a very rural line back to rail when they have a perfect good road already. The amount of people using the line would, I imagine, be very low. While I appreciate the amazing work that West on Track are doing for this part of our country, I think that some of their plans can be a bit more idealistic and nostalgic than realistic. Doubling of Galway to Athenry and reopening of Athenry to Claremorris would in my opinion be the ideal and most profitable projects. Phase 4 of the WRC (Claremorris to Colooney) should definitely be kept from the greenwaying plague but I just think that at the moment, the market is not there, and money (a rather sparse commodity in this government) could be better used elsewhere.

The third track and platform at Clonfriffin seems a very underused asset to me, it would be an ideal place to board passengers on a DART while an Enterprise passed it out. Clontarf Road would certainly make an easy passing loop fix too, what with the stabling sidings that already join back up with the main line beside the platform, not to mention them being pre-electrified, but it may be too close to Connolly to make this viable. Raheny would be an ideal second location for one too, although that might be a lot harder to achieve.

Hahaha indeed, that’s my plan exactly!

Happy New Year to all! Much to be looked forward to then by the looks of it! Work for the new year looking very good soo far! It’s an amazing and extremely admirable project and while I would love to volunteer and help out, living in the opposite corner of the country and still being in secondary level education means I wouldn’t likely be much help, but keep up the outstanding work to all involved!

Just catching up on the thread after a while, progress looks absolutely unreal!! Does this mean that they’ll have two carriages soon enough? And of the same type..? Is there plans as well to rebuild the station building or is that more of a long-term goal? As I said the work looks absolutely amazing, everyone involved you’re all a credit to yourselves and the Irish Railway Community! Keep it up and Merry Christmas all

Brilliant!! Would love to head up for a look!! Is the eventual plan to have standard gauge track running for the entire length of the line? Also how long is the proposed length of line that the railway will run for? Is it open for business yet and if not have ye an expected opening time for narrow and/or standard gauge running? Sorry for all the questions but it’s a fascinating project and I wish everyone involved the best of luck with it!! Keep safe!

Hi all, I hope everyone’s keeping well! I’m just wondering if anyone has the timetables for the Ballina - Dublin Port IWT Container Trains (a rough time for a pass through Drumcondra would be helpful too if possible!) and the timetables for the DFDS Ballina - Waterford Trains!! Much appreciated!! Stay safe!

Heading North or Southbound because, in the end I actually saw the empties heading north behind 088 at 16:10 through Howth Jnct so I’m all happy now!!! Thanks!