The Clara Banagher Line

[gph2000]

When my son plays football (favourite position - the bench) I tend to spend at least an hour feretting out local walk. Next up Ferbane. While the Clara Banagher line has largely disappeared, it looks like BNM repurposed a 4 KM stretch (the google streetview car even found it way onto it) from 53.30471050587556, -7.731137740923829 to 53.2845209348109, -7.780790207448966. Access from the R436 at Primo Coach works to the western end.

 

There's also a disused impressive stone arched bridge at 53.268829820716384, -7.818276244239464 - but I havent visited so I cannot vouch for its safety.

[airfixfan]

There was an article on the Banagher branch in a recent issue of Railway Bylines magazine

[leslie10646]

The late Jimmy (?) O'Dea wrote an extended and valuable article in the IRRS Journal, Vol. 11, pages 127 - 139 and part 2 in the same Volume pages 170 -178.

The article shows a G Class diesel at Clara on the Banagher Goods and a Sulzer B Class at Banagher itself.

 

 

[flange lubricator]

20 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

The late Jimmy (?) O'Dea wrote an extended and valuable article in the IRRS Journal, Vol. 11, pages 127 - 139 and part 2 in the same Volume pages 170 -178.

The article shows a G Class diesel at Clara on the Banagher Goods and a Sulzer B Class at Banagher itself.

 

 

The O 'Dea pictures are available from the National Libary.

Collection: O'Dea Photograph Collection (nli.ie)

 

[jhb171achill]

A superb collection - pity he didn’t do colour, though!

I spent much of January going through the entire collection (again!), making copious notes…..

[gph2000]

As often as I have gone through the O'Dea collection, I only now noticed that the National Archive is placing Tullamore in Westmeath! Queue snarky letter to Tullamore Tribune.

[Broithe]

On 24/8/2021 at 9:23 AM, gph2000 said:

There's also a disused impressive stone arched bridge at 53.268829820716384, -7.818276244239464 - but I havent visited so I cannot vouch for its safety.

Part of it can be seen on Street View - https://www.google.com/maps/@53.2687789,-7.8168261,3a,15y,278.28h,88.7t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shnc6cmnWNGFRQM98BBTnfg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dhnc6cmnWNGFRQM98BBTnfg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D353.99185%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656 - and it looks fairly complete.

 

And it looks very sound in other pictures.

 

Some details on page 88 here, at the bottom of the page - https://www.offaly.ie/eng/Services/Heritage/Documents/Offaly_Bridges_Part_1.pdf

 

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Broithe
Addition.

[jhb171achill]

That's one line that CIE couldn't wait to close; on the day the last train went in there, one account has it that once the loco had run round, but before the train left, PW men working in the station lifting a siding started banging the keys out of the run-round loop just after the loco had passed over it!

To be fair to CIE, that's one branch line that never would have survived anyway.

[gph2000]

IT might have - for concrete only.