Railways proposed post-WWI?

[Bóithre Iarainn]

Hello all,

Recently I was reading about the Slieveardagh coalfield in Co. Tipperary and came across some hazy references to a rail line to the mines proposed in the late 1930s. This was only a short freight spur but it got me wondering if there were any other (unbuilt) railways proposed after WWI but before the period of largescale closures in the 50s and 60s.

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Bóithre Iarainn said:

Hello all,

Recently I was reading about the Slieveardagh coalfield in Co. Tipperary and came across some hazy references to a rail line to the mines proposed in the late 1930s. This was only a short freight spur but it got me wondering if there were any other (unbuilt) railways proposed after WWI but before the period of largescale closures in the 50s and 60s.

Making a triangular junction at Knockmore, Lisburn, was considered then, for one thing.

[Galteemore]

2 hours ago, Bóithre Iarainn said:

Hello all,

Recently I was reading about the Slieveardagh coalfield in Co. Tipperary and came across some hazy references to a rail line to the mines proposed in the late 1930s. This was only a short freight spur but it got me wondering if there were any other (unbuilt) railways proposed after WWI but before the period of largescale closures in the 50s and 60s.

Not a great deal. Large scale military mechanisation in WW1 coupled to the Ford system of mass production suggested to most governments that the future lay in roads. The US interstate system, for instance, was planned by, among others, a young Dwight D Eisenhower post WW1. My own research in the public works files of the NI Govt suggests a similar road focus into the 30s and beyond. Some projects were rail focused, esp the improvements to the NCC main line, and doubling of the Whitehead line. One NCC scheme which sadly didn’t make it to reality was the proposed diversion of the Portrush branch to take in Portstewart after the tramway closed in ‘26.

Edited Monday at 15:07 by Galteemore

[Flying Snail]

Here's a couple of mining branches that did manage to get built around that time

• The Wolfhill branch from Athy was built at the end of WW1. More here: https://thewandererphotos.smugmug.com/ForgottenRailways/The-Wolfhill-Branch
• The Caslecomer branch of the Kilkenny Portlaoise line was one of the last built (1922). More here: http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway Stations C/Castlecomer/IrishRailwayStations.html

 

 

[Broithe]

1 hour ago, Flying Snail said:

Here's a couple of mining branches that did manage to get built around that time

• The Wolfhill branch from Athy was built at the end of WW1. More here: https://thewandererphotos.smugmug.com/ForgottenRailways/The-Wolfhill-Branch
• The Caslecomer branch of the Kilkenny Portlaoise line was one of the last built (1922). More here: http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway Stations C/Castlecomer/IrishRailwayStations.html

 

 

I have a set of the 1910 revision of the 1" maps, covering the whole of Laois/Queen's County and extending into the necessary parts of the adjoining counties.

It shows the coalfield railways and I will (one day) create an overlay above the current Google Maps output.

There is always a risk with maps of that era that they can show things that were intended, but may have been different in reality, or even never have happened at all.

I have an old UK OS map showing the railway that ran behind my house in England, until 1976 - it shows it crossing the road via a level crossing, which it never did, it ran parallel to the road all the way, never crossing it. Presumably the intended route was supplied and the maps were printed before the revised route could be amended.

[commerlad]

It's not just old maps that can be wrong , Modern ones can also suffer. When someone makes a mistake on an adjustment.

My point, In our borough there is an old road, It has to be a right of way. But it is not, instead it is shown on borough maps as private?

Reason someone cocked up. At some point.

The road was fine up until it was crossed on the level by a railway. Still fine a crossing was installed and a keepers house to staff it was put in.

And a lane was altered to run along side the railway line and come out next to the keepers cottage rather than have a second crossing 

Later it was decided that the traffic on the road was too heavy and a flyover was installed. the crossing was closed and the lane that had been altered to run along side the line was diverted again to come out at the bottom of the slope for the flyover.

Now somehow the 2 sections of old road that ran to the old crossing gates are no longer under public highways and listed as private, and the lane that has been diverted 2 times (And only serves the back entrance of a farm which even the farmer does not use and has padlocked and chained his gates to stop fly tipping) is shown as public under the highways map.

Great when someone from highways does not know how to read a map and when marking up the new one put the labels on the wrong roads.

So now the old road with Houses, Farm and the Old Keepers Cottage is not cared for by highways any longer and is so overgrown to the point that it is now almost covering the old centre line markings (Even though we have to go down it with a bin lorry) but the unused farmers lane is. Re Surfaced, Gritted, Swept, Litter Picked, Cleaned of Fly Tipping etc .

 

[David Holman]

Very little happened this side of the water either, though in Kent, the Allhallows branch wasn't built until the 1920s.

[BSGSV]

I seem to recall seeing something in passing, and with no details, about a proposed "cut-off" line from the MGWR to the GSWR line near Lucan, after 1945. I don't know if there was any truth to it, or just a mis-interpretation about something else, as I've never seen any further reference to it.

[GSR 800]

1 hour ago, BSGSV said:

I seem to recall seeing something in passing, and with no details, about a proposed "cut-off" line from the MGWR to the GSWR line near Lucan, after 1945. I don't know if there was any truth to it, or just a mis-interpretation about something else, as I've never seen any further reference to it.

 @Mayner has mentioned similar before as a proposal under the GSR.

MGWR trains would've run to Kingsbridge instead of Westland Row.

The impact of this would be quite interesting, depending on where the line departed. One wonders if it would have prevented the changeover of Western services to the GSWR route to Athlone in the 70s