minister_for_hardship

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.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/green-light-for-kerry-cycle-route-312939.html Looks likely the Valentia branch or at least a portion of it will get to be a greenway with CPOs. If only there was this attitude to railway preservation in the ROI as there is with the current greenway 'mania'.

The Irish college in Ballingeary had 3 or 4 grounded six wheeler bodies as dorms, two were GS&WR origin iirc, they were incinerated in the 1990s. Internal partitions were partly cut away to access the length of each coach, fitted out with bunk beds and a wash hand basin at the end. The GS&WR ones still retained luggage racks with 'GSWR' cast into the brackets and one had a window with 'SMOKING' etched into it.

As you can see the Act had a lot in it... http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1933/act/11/enacted/en/html

It's a licence plate from a road vehicle, not necessarily one owned by GSR/CIE. Like a private coach... I have seen one on a lorry before, so probably licenced hauliers had them as well at one time. Private buses still carry an alloy oval plate along the same lines, without referencing the Act. Don't think CIE buses have had to carry them for some time, think they got an exemption way back. Taxis have them too...http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6064/6031102942_dd70aba833.jpg

Isn't that a coach in Departmental grey with just the board clapped up on it? One of those boards hung around Mallow for a long time after the GSRPS imploded, don't know where it went, landfill perhaps. Think it had a dark green background with eau de nil letters. An attempt to copy what BR were doing in around the same time, not sure if it was all that successful. Iirc saw a pic of a number of them at the then recently closed Tramore station, maybe they were stabled at other seaside type locations as well? Youghal maybe?

A flying snail is not an insect, it's actually an avian variety of mollusc.

Not entirely unknown for things of British origin, esp something as portable as a container, to end up stranded over here. Maybe even acquired by CIE?

Could be something that could have been bogging around an airport or wholly road transport-related, but less likely. Get your briar hook out and uncover the other end.

It looked more like a roundel from further away! In the close-up, it looks like it's infilled with white as well... The spring loaded label holder would be an almost sure sign it is of railway origin.

Perish the thought!

Think I spotted what looked like a furniture container a while back? Didn't take a pic, so Google Maps.

They would have mouldered and become overgrown like the New Ross branch, Foynes, Youghal etc. There may have been partial Cork-Midleton type revivals and perhaps a few more greenways/cycleways for the clearly uneconomic portions. Perhaps some efforts at preservation? Who knows? I see the South Kerry cycleway proposal is facing some local opposition, although I see the press article stating that CIE 'gave away' the land...thought they sold it to adjacent landowners?

There's two, perhaps 3 ex Cork and Muskerry coaches in use as holiday homes near Youghal and in pretty good shape too. There were lots of coaches, wagons and even buses up around Crosshaven, pretty much all of these have either rotted away or have been demolished. One ng wagon, either C&MLR or CB&PR origin survives as a garden shed. Spotted what looked like one half of a parcels, brake or postal van cut in two a few years ago, but covered in cladding on three sides with one side backed onto a high wall so impossible to tell what exactly it was.

90 also got decked out in a similar or maybe identical, lined green before being plinthed at Fermoy. Thought the J15 lined green was applied before CIE finished with them? Seem to recall a pic of a green J15 shunting goods wagons in Irish Railways in Colour.