Patrick Davey

I stumbled upon an interesting location on my travels today - the long closed station at Croom, Co. Limerick, which last saw a service train as far back as 1934, although goods traffic lingered on until the 1960s. The station was one of three on a short line which joined the Limerick-Tralee line to the Dublin-Cork mainline, potentially providing a more direct route from Cork to Limerick than via Limerick Junction, but for reasons which I no doubt would not fully understand, the potential of this does not seem to have been realised - knowledgeable folk here will inform! Here’s the location of Croom: Croom station, before final closure, photo by Roger Joanes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/110691393@N07/11451633084/in/photolist-irWBxJ-2qEvnks-2qEu9AD-2qUSb1V-2qEkqFN-2qEu1Vo-2pwo2v1-2qEpsk7-2pwpX7J-2pwoJLo-2pwrbPr Nice photo survey of the actual station building before demolition: https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/21828022/croom-railway-station-croom-croom-co-limerick The station area was quite cluttered, with one platform on which was the station building, goods shed and signal cabin. Croom goods shed, photo by Fred Dean, not sure of the year: https://www.flickr.com/photos/be216cd1/14008474790 My photo of the goods shed from today, the roof has collapsed since Fred’s photo: The road overbridge at the Limerick end: There was a water tower on the far side of this bridge, towards the end of the passing loop. Just one of many interesting abandoned Irish railway locations.

To be sure, to be sure, to be sure........? Taxi.......

Working close to Adare today and I just happened find time to drop by the site of the station, noting a lot of progress since my last visit: Barriers and lights in position View form the LC across the Maigue bridge towards Limerick View from the LC into the former station site, towards Foynes This decent looking building is an emergency generator room, one of 3 along the route, I am reliably told! Nice to see a building like this given a pleasing and almost traditional appearance. A work colleague here tells me that services for the Ryder Cup will operate to and from Limerick Junction and not Limerick, due to the track layout there, anyone verify? I am not overly familiar with the layout around Limerick. He was also bemoaning the €3M temporary platform that will be built at Adare for golfing folk.........

Very impressive, love the neat trackwork and, well, everything else! Any videos?

Quite a rough shunt there! Great work!!

More up to date photos on the Facebook page, amazing job! https://www.facebook.com/p/Mohill-Station-House-61578187328947/

Nice - plus Mohill has just been beautifully restored for community use: https://mohillstationhouse.com/

Just watched the video above - again. Wow, just wow.

Lovely T&D shots - am in Kerry at the moment so nice to see these. Still a good few remnants to see around the former T&D routes. Great view of the train approaching Bundoran Junction too. Thanks Ernie!

Glenagalt is one of the many locations photographed by PW and other legendary photographers, across the whole Island - I have been looking at these photos since I was a youngster, thinking of them as mystical places in some far off fantasy land that I would never see, but now I have a job which makes visiting them almost routine. Suits me!

Also....... is it VALENCIA or VALENTIA!!! Timetables (pic from Ernie) have the latter: But the station nameboard, (photo also from Ernie) has the former:

Another gem, discovered on my current work travels - Farranfore Railway Park, in Co. Kerry, just beside the station. There is a particularly good information board which has an excellent selection of photos from the Valentia Harbour branch and there are other boards as well, near the old water tower, although for some reason they are not accessible due to the presence of a locked gate. In my younger days I would have leapfrogged over it but that would no longer be advisable. Anyone know why the gate is locked? Farranfore station, looking towards Killarney. The Valentia Harbour branch trains left from the far side of the right hand platform, which was once an island platform. The branch diverged a short distance beyond the station. Just to whet the appetite of many folks here!!! Not long now....... The very tall stone base of the old water tower at Farranfore. It was presumably so tall because it was unusually situated, at quite a lower level than the running lines. I took this photo from the locked gate - boo. Great to see a facility like this. Great information. This was the highlight - many photos here that I hadn't seen before. I'll be back next week so I might bring something to clean this with! A pleasant spot for a pause on one's journey. Well done to the local community on their efforts.

Work brings me to the stunning Kingdom of Kerry (I know, must be a hard life). Not too much time for exploration on this trip but I've made it to the site of the remote Glenagalt Halt on the Tralee & Dingle Railway: And here's the view in the opposite direction: Am currently trying to imagine the sight and sounds of one of those legendary T&DR double headed cattle specials, crawling up the bank to this location.

Just gets better and better!

I am very sad to see the continued decay at the former GNR station at Newtownbutler in Co. Fermanagh. It must require a huge amount of money to restore and maintain buildings like this. Maybe sometime it will be adopted as a community project such a distinctive building. I have a memory of visiting this building back in the early 1990s, when it was occupied, and speaking to the elderly owner, who was the daughter of the last stationmaster - she was understandably very cautious about letting my friend and I visit, then she rang me a few months later after speaking to somebody she knew who actually knew me! She was very apologetic for not letting me in and invited me to call next time I was in the area, but unfortunately by the time I was able to do that, the house was derelict. On the occasion of my first visit, it was immaculate, and beautifully cared for.

Fabulous lighting effects on the new Park Royal coaches and Hunslet locomotives.

Awesome - delighted with my 2, was toying with the idea of a 3rd but decided I was just being greedy.....

If they were on the Lough Derg traffic, didn't the buses (boo) meet the pilgrims at Omagh? Would there have been any need for the locos to go beyond Omagh I wonder? Very interesting traffic! Worthy of an article in the IRRS journal!

Page 24 of Eric Challoner's excellent 'Farewell to Derry Road' shows a green A class at Beragh, mystery solved!

Here are two fine stone bridges, which stand as a memorial to the loss, 61 years ago, of a fine railway. One is an underbridge, the other an overbridge, and both are located on or near the Lurganeden Road, to the south of Pomeroy in Co. Tyrone. Both bridges are well preserved. The overbridge carries the Lurganeden Road across the former trackbed of the GNR’s ‘Derry Road’: The underbridge would have carried the Derry Road over a private lane off the same road: The last service trains passed under and over these bridges in February 1965. The OB still has a function, but the UB hasn’t, and it’s quite remarkable that the embankments on either side have been removed but the bridge itself has been left in place - we probably have someone to thank for that. It’s also remarkable to think that in addition to generations of GNR steam trains and diesel railcars, these bridges would also have witnessed the passing by of some of CIE’s modern diesel locomotives, including members of the 141 class as they headed north with Lough Derg pilgrimage trains. More knowledgeable contributors than I will be able to advise if the CIÉ A class or 121s ever operated on this route. If the line had lasted just 2 more years, going into NIR ownership, it might have survived a bit longer, and had it lasted a further 3 years, it might well have witnessed the appearance of NIR’s Hunslet locomotives in their fine maroon livery: And what of Pomeroy station itself? Best not ask.

Impressive work!

I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one...I don't need a second one..............

BR blue is hard to beat - all lovely though!

A very satisfying photograph to take - thank you IRM!

The red looks the part! Cheers David And excellent inspiration for the cab interior - not as much room in the smaller scale but I'll have a go!