minister_for_hardship

The semaphores in Cork are operational, not ornamental, but living on borrowed time. Clonakilty is nicely set up, but could have been done better. The stock doesn't resemble anything that ran on the West Cork or Ireland for that matter. Wouldn't be too much of an ask to have someone build a Bandon tank and some genuine stock. It's fine for childrens' parties and that's about it - as an interpretation on what the West Cork was like before it closed...forget it. Tralee - Blennerville is closed for maybe 10 or 15 years now, and the way it's looking I don't see anything happening here, despite the exhortations that had been made online a few months back. I think Ballydehob and those places along the S&S missed a trick without making reference to the railway anywhere. If it wasn't for the viaduct you could be forgiven for thinking that this part of the SW was never served by rail.

How about GNR Oxford Blue/Cream?

Some lining would be nice, they look a little spartan on the outside at least. The irony of naming a coach after a county not connected to the rail network for over a half century....

Well, it was intended to be a 'comedy'.

More the national pastime of holding grudges. The French were 'a great bunch of lads' until that incident.

Move over Diarmuid MacMurrough, Cromwell and Captain Boycott even...

We can have something as silly as a National Lepreachaun Museum in Dublin city centre but not this.

Political soundbite here. Project is best described as being on a geological timescale. http://www.northcountyleader.ie/2016/06/07/refurbishment-of-casino-malahide/

The dearth of mineral resources kind of put paid to early industrial revolution activity, that and being seen as being primarily agrarian and in a position well down the pecking order compared to England/Wales/Scot. Don't think it could have kicked off any earlier than it did.

Proposed Railway station at Tara. Yes, that Tara, you read that right. http://archiseek.com/2012/1942-new-capital-city-for-ireland-at-tara/ (no 9 on the drawing, for non-Irish speakers.)

A nice splash of colour and a relief from 'Austerity Grey'...

Found yet another grounded wagon week before last, from peeking through bushes appears to be a cattle wagon, or else its got some upper planking missing.

Detached snails, wagon is not long for this world so took photos of them in place before removing them. Oddly, one is a slightly different shade of green from the other, unless it had been standing for a while exposed to sun on one side only. No other tonnage plates / wagon plates in evidence.

An invaluable collection, some curious inclusions and omissions from a gricer point of view, though presumably the photographers set out to get a broad flavour of the country as it was, rather than getting every railway location.

For the first few years it would seem it carried a painted scroll-type headboard, similar to the Centenary Special, before changing to the curved alloy headboard and 'flash'. There were additional fittings to clamp the headboard/flash to the handrails of diesel locos.

The original building (seen in Lawrence collection photos) was a corrugated iron structure like that at Kenmare and was burnt down, in the Civil War iirc. What's there now looks quite large for what is a very minor station serving literally middle of nowhere, did An Oige extend it when they took it over as a hostel I wonder?

I don't believe preservation is part of our 'culture'. We're passionate about many things as a nation, but unfortunately railway preservation isn't one of them. Lobbyists and public representatives are willing to move mountains for greenways; they're plastered all over Failte Ireland ads and are the 'in thing' now, they're pretty easy to construct and maintain compared to a working railway and appear to be a magic formula for attracting visitors to the area.

Loo Bridge, Co. Kerry. http://www.sherryfitz.ie/residential/for-sale/49665

Would be inclined to agree, somehow a very very rarely photographed location. The island platform, large nameboard and family resemblance of building to those on the South Kerry branches would be pointing in that direction.

In the pre Euro car reg system 'CIE' was a Co Clare car registration.

The Killeagh-Youghal walk is very overgrown now and Youghal station site itself not accessable anymore, palisade fencing surrounds it all after a malicious fire a number of years ago. Gogginshill tunnel has been blocked off at both ends by person who owns new house on the Ballinhassig station site. It used be possible to obtain keys to access tunnel by asking nicely at this house, now that it has been rented out to a tenant this isn't possible anymore. I *think* part of the Shillelagh branch is now a walkway, thought I saw signage to that effect last time I passed through there but didn't have time to confirm. EDIT: a quick consultation with the gods of Google confirms this. http://tinahely.ie/walking/railway-walk/ From a drive through the stations of the SL&NC last year, a lot of the route appears quite clear and walkable.

If they weren't sold off, I would daresay in the land where cute hoorism runs rampant...landowners would get adverse possession anyway, so back to square one. That is, unless the route is patrolled to prevent that...even so the Burma Road/Foynes branch periodically has electric fences strung across and livestock grazing away happily in places.

The GST has sturdy galvanised spring loaded gates that shut after the walker has passed through and farm-type gates to link up fields separated by the trail.

I have met one farmer who bounded the Great Southern Trail who was very happy with the outcome, and then, not a million miles away on the former Fenit branch there were all sorts of scare stories cooked up..the proposed greenway being cited as a convenient access and getaway route for footpads, cutpurses and general bad types, stealing everything from round bales to small children. Why not go whole hog and blockade the public roads, a far more widely used network for thieves?

Greenways were not even thought of back in Ireland of the 1960's... or 70's for that matter unless by accident rather than design, converting the alignments of old railways into roads for motor traffic was dabbled with.