Small yards & locations on the irish railway system

[Celtic_transport]

Hi all,

im currently building a micro layout based in the 90s/00s, but its come to a standstill as im struggling to find inspiration. Im wondering if anyone has any knowledge on small yards or industrial facilities that were served by rail on the network. Pictures would be amazing or even just some information to get me inspired again. Merry Christmas and happy new year to you all.

[Mol_PMB]

By the 1990s a lot of the smaller yards and depots had been closed, with freight handled at fewer, larger facilities. 
Remaining smaller facilities tended to be dedicated to one traffic. 
However, there was still a good variety of freight on the network and stations like Ennis would handle several different traffics. 
Foynes was still active I think. 
 

Are there any specific traffics you want to include? I.e. what wagons have you got?

 

Another option would be to model a repair workshop like part of Limerick or Inchicore.

Or a PW yard? 

[Celtic_transport]

Thinking a pw yard is the best option, im from the northeast so pw traffic/tara/gypsum/cement is what i grew up with, just struggling to justify my idea for the layout as plausible 

[jhb171achill]

Compared with the Neighbouring Isle of funny-coloured trains, we never had anything remotely like the number or variety of yards big and small as they did. What few we DID have mostly vanished by the 1970s - some barely even made it ionto the 20th century.  So 1990s is narrowing the gene pool considerably.

I would therefore suggest a fictitious one rather than, perhaps attempting to replicate an actual one; or if the latter is preferred, simply use artistic licence to pretend it had lasted longer.

Some of these places, where they did exist, were simply sidings off to the side of some station - for example, at one time Enniscorthy had no fewer than seven private sidings within the station itself and its immediate environs. Polloxfens Mills at Ballysodare in Co Sligo lasted into the 1970s and had a number of very short parallel sidings, connected through a short rock cutting to the station. Scenic as well as operationally interesting; indeed, possibly the best such example.

You could imagine the Westport Quay line lasted longer than the late 1970s, and that the siding from the station there to two mill buildings on the actual quayside still saw atimidly crawling 141 and a couple of wagons into the 1990s.

But there lies another issue. In the 1990s, loose-coupled single vans going in an out of small sidings was a thing of the past by some fifteen years. It was by then all about block workings. If you go down that road, possibly your best bet is some sort of place that handles fertiliser wagons or even just loads beet - Belleville siding near Tuam as an example? This avoids the need to have to model a whole modern industrial plant like a cement factory or a container yard gantry. Even Albert Quay in Cork in its last days handled fert trains with sometimes only 3, 4 or 5 fert bogies. If you go for something like that, you can have a fiddle yard line appearing from under a bridge or something, and just split it up into 2 or 3 parallel sidings, each of which might be so short that it would only hold 3 fert wagons - that could be made to look realistic. Locos, as in so many of these type of places, would not haul trains in (thus needing a good bit of extra space for a run round loop and headshunt), but propel them in and haul them out. I think that is probably your answer.

[Mayner]

While my initial thoughts were that most of the smaller yards and private sidings had closed as CIE shifted from individual wagon load to fixed formation Liner Train operation for general freight/container traffic and Block trains for single commodities like Cement (bagged & Bulk), Fertiliser, Ores to fulfil the Railplan 80 objective of establishing a 'no shunt railway"  Irish Rail began to adapt a more pragmatic approach with the hope of increasing traffic/profitability with a number of new freight flows using (underutilised/redundant stock) that emerged during the late 80s/90s mainly in connection with traffic in Animal Feed (mollasses and grain to the Midlands.

Mollassess was loaded at a small bulk terminal an extension of a redundant zinc ore spur at Foynes and conveyed in block trains of previously redundant oil tank wagons (Mid 60-early 70s era) to Limerick then distriubuted by scheduled Liner Train to their final destinations Mullingar & Longford typically cuts of 6 wagons. Initially grain was carried in 20' purpose built containers on 22'wb flats at Foynes and later Waterford and railed to the Portlaoise Avonmore plant at the end of the stub of the Portlaosie-Kilkenny line. At Waterford grain was loaded on a private siding that served an IAWS elevator, in its final years grain was loaded at Dublin Port with road transfer to the North Wall yard and railed on bogie flats to the Avonmore Plant.  Although unloaded on a spur outside the Avonmore plant, work had commenced on installing a run-round loop beffore the traffic ceased in the early 2000s.

Its just about possible similar traffic flows might have extended to the North East if the Irish Government had been supportive for railfreight during the early 2000s.

Earlier Bulk Grain and Tar Traffic (individual wagon load) increased during the mid-late 50s, but largely gone by Mid-1970s. Bulk grain tended to be handled in concrete/corrugated iron/asbestos additions to existing stone mills, tar simple siding with steam heating plant (in shed) to transfer to road tanker. Modern private sidings tended to be set up to handle 1-15 wagon trains of bogie wagons co-op siding Farranfore.

Personally I think it would be easier simpler to build a mico layout set in an earlier period, industrues, railway rolling stock all operating on a smaller scale and buildings and structures architecturally more attractive and rail traffic conveyed in individual wagon load rather than the gtrain load.

 

[seagoebox]

Here we have an undated list of sidings on the CIE network. The only clue to possible date is on page 2 where a siding for Goulding at Sligo is "being installed"

[jhb171achill]

38 minutes ago, seagoebox said:

Here we have an undated list of sidings on the CIE network. The only clue to possible date is on page 2 where a siding for Goulding at Sligo is "being installed"

It’s pre-1959 anyway, as destinations on the C & L are mentioned.

While the list mentions “Location of Siding”, just a thought: is there the slightest chance that in any of these cases a rail connection might have recently been superseded by lorries? If so, the date could be very slightly later…. I doubt it, but it did occur to me.

Overall, Mayner’s observation is spot on; a period somewhat earlier than 1990-2000 gives way, way more opportunities.

[Galteemore]

Interesting to see a private siding at Drumshanbo which wasn’t coal related.Lairds were a big deal in Drumshanbo - also the manufacturers of Bo Peep jam which the elders among us may recall.

 

I agree with the sages above re chronology. If you go 1975ish you have a lot more scope. Can just imagine an IDA-backed new factory just off the Burma Road, needing tanks of fuel in and H vans of product out….you can get away with locos in ‘Supertrain’ colours as well as the older liveries

Edited December 31, 2025 by Galteemore

[Mol_PMB]

If you want to stick with the 1990s era, then I think the more interesting options would be:

• PW yard. Not just ballast hoppers but rails/track panels on bogie flats, spoil wagons, maybe an excavator on a lowmac. 
• Wagon repair facility. I considered a layout based on a small part of the Limerick wagon works. Any type of wagon can turn up.
• Cement-based industry. In a small scale, probably something that receives cement and produces cement-based products (breeze blocks, lintels, roofing sheets, concrete sleepers?) which can also go out by train.
• Food-based industry as mentioned above. Molasses tanks and containers. Even a chocolate factory (e.g. Rathmore).

See if you can get hold of the February 2019 IRRS journal, which has a detailed illustrated article on Private Sidings on Irish Railways. That's where I found my inspiration for my Quartertown Mill mini-layout.

[Mayner]

On 31/12/2025 at 10:54 PM, Galteemore said:

Interesting to see a private siding at Drumshanbo which wasn’t coal related.Lairds were a big deal in Drumshanbo - also the manufacturers of Bo Peep jam which the elders among us may recall.

 

I agree with the sages above re chronology. If you go 1975ish you have a lot more scope. Can just imagine an IDA-backed new factory just off the Burma Road, needing tanks of fuel in and H vans of product out….you can get away with locos in ‘Supertrain’ colours as well as the older liveries

J R Campbells merchants was one of the signature features of Drumshanbo with its short siding, corrugated store and timber/farm gates stacked against the railway wall encroaching onto the platform!

The station building  and corrugated store on my Keadue layout (wife calls its a diorama) some day I must replace the wooden fence with a stone wall as a rest for some Campbells stock of farm gates and timber.

[jhb171achill]

When planning a small operation like this, it’s handy if the type of traffic would have been in covered vans or open wagons!

You can’t see whether a covered van is full or empty, but if you’re modelling some sort of operation which uses open wagons (beet, ore, coal etc) you need to be empty going one way and laden in the other!

To justify recent acquisitions of IRM grain wagons, Dugort Harbour will have a mill siding somewhere - haven’t quite figured out how to include it yet!

[Mol_PMB]

7 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

When planning a small operation like this, it’s handy if the type of traffic would have been in covered vans or open wagons!

You can’t see whether a covered van is full or empty, but if you’re modelling some sort of operation which uses open wagons (beet, ore, coal etc) you need to be empty going one way and laden in the other!

To justify recent acquisitions of IRM grain wagons, Dugort Harbour will have a mill siding somewhere - haven’t quite figured out how to include it yet!

Indeed. Even I don't try to represent the difference in leaf spring deflection or inertia when being shunted. Yet...

Tank wagons (oil, tar, cement, ammonia etc), covered hoppers (magnesite), Taras and pallet cement 'blues' look much the same laden or empty too. Most types of container don't show their load state either.

[Westcorkrailway]

Depends on how micro. I’m thinking of places like dunkettle, Marino Point, Mallow Beet factory. Was there small sidings in rathpeacon that late? 
 

up the country…what was barrack street and Adelaide like around these times? 

Edited January 5 by Westcorkrailway

[spudfan]

On 30/12/2025 at 10:59 PM, Celtic_transport said:

 just struggling to justify my idea for the layout as plausible 

Your layout, run what ever you want. That is the only justification you need. That is what I do and the world has not come to an end.

[Old Blarney]

On 30/12/2025 at 9:50 PM, Celtic_transport said:

Quote

 

Hi all,

im currently building a micro layout based in the 90s/00s, but its come to a standstill as im struggling to find inspiration. Im wondering if anyone has any knowledge on small yards or industrial facilities that were served by rail on the network. Pictures would be amazing or even just some information to get me inspired again. Merry Christmas and happy new year to you all.

I was asked at an Exhibition, "Why are you running an American Locomotive Bog Boy on an Irish Model Railway?" I replied with a very tall story. It related to testing the use of Turf in Locomotives as a viable fuel. Thus, a  very large firebox was required etc, etc.  My final words to this extremely annoying and self-opinionated individual were; "Its my model railway and I shall run on it anything I so wish"

Your railway is yours to enjoy.  Imagination, fiction, reality and what if! These all have their rightful places on your Model Railway.

Happy and contented modelling to you.

 

 

 

 

[jhb171achill]

9 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Depends on how micro. I’m thinking of places like dunkettle, Marino Point, Mallow Beet factory. Was there small sidings in rathpeacon that late? 
 

up the country…what was barrack street and Adelaide like around these times? 

Adelaide would be much bigger than a “micro” layout….

[Colonel]

All you need to justify almost any type of traffic is a siding going off scene - either a different track back to the fiddle yard, or a second yard at the other end. The former makes more sense if space is at a premium.

 The siding can then serve whatever you fancy and even have its own private shunter, while empty or loaded wagons not a problem either.

[Mayner]

2 hours ago, Colonel said:

All you need to justify almost any type of traffic is a siding going off scene - either a different track back to the fiddle yard, or a second yard at the other end. The former makes more sense if space is at a premium.

 The siding can then serve whatever you fancy and even have its own private shunter, while empty or loaded wagons not a problem either.

One of the main drawbacks in attempting to model IEs freight operations during the 90s-00s was that individual wagon load traffic had ceased and the majority of private sidings had closed by the late 70s and CIE essentially operated a 'no-shunt' railway that operated  fixed formation trains.

While the majority of private sidings were set up to handle train load traffic, a number of private sidings continued to operate connected to Dublin Port's Alexandra Road Tramway that handled short(ish) cuts of wagons into the 00s.  Wagons were mainly (apart from Tara, Asahi & Cawoods's coal) moved along the tramway by Dublin Port tractors, though locos coupled and brake test carried out to ESSO Oil trains while on the Tramway before crossing East Wall Road.

One alternative would be to assume that CIE/IE had taken a more pragmatic approach and continued to operate individual wagon load traffic and private sidings using its fleet of 'modern" fitted wagons introduced from the mid-60s onwards not unlike BRs "Speedlink' wagon load service that operated between 1977 and 1991. 

19 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Depends on how micro. I’m thinking of places like dunkettle, Marino Point, Mallow Beet factory. Was there small sidings in rathpeacon that late? 
up the country…what was barrack street and Adelaide like around these times? 

Dunkettle may be just about doable for a mini-micro layout with a single siding serving a Texaco fuel rack, with two short sidings crossing the road to serve (a) Burmah Oil (b) Roofchrome Factory/later Tivoli Port.  Tivoli siding was served by a trailing connection only to the Cork-Cobh Line so trains departing Cork for Dunkettle ran wrong road.

Marino Point, Mallow, Barrack St and Adelaide were basically laid out to handle train load traffic possibly without short sidings, Barrack St closed disconnected by mid-1990s following the opening of the new terminal on the stub of the Irish North Line. The up yard at Rathpeacon was quite extensive likely to have been disconnected when CTC was extended south from Mallow during the 90s. One of the long roads in the up yard was used as a lay bye siding to allow North bound passenger trains to overtake freight/Liner trains during the late 70s, once travelled on the evening Cork-Dublin train that overtook the B&I Liner that had departed Cork st about half an hour earlier. The yard was later used to store a rake of GSRPS coaches after the connection to the GSRPS base at Mallow was disconnected from the railnetwork around 78-9 in connection with the extension of Cork line CTC to Mallow.

[skinner75]

Speaking of Barrack Street, I came across this vid the other night (the start is a slideshow, but goes into video later):
https://youtu.be/A0hXzVPfhvY?si=x5QfJpweflM4hcsG

[Mol_PMB]

Boyne Road branch might be another one to consider? 

[jhb171achill]

14 hours ago, Colonel said:

All you need to justify almost any type of traffic is a siding going off scene - either a different track back to the fiddle yard, or a second yard at the other end. The former makes more sense if space is at a premium.

 The siding can then serve whatever you fancy and even have its own private shunter, while empty or loaded wagons not a problem either.

Exactly.

A variation on the theme is what I'm considering for "Dugort Harbour".

As will be seen from accompanying diagrams, the "real" scenario imagined for this line was a semi-main line (like the North Kerry, or Mallow - Tralee) which ends up at a place called Castletown West (Newcastle West / Castletownbere?). A bit like Cahirciveen to Valentia Harbour or Skibbereen  - Baltimore, there's a short extension built later with government assistance, somewhat extravagantly worked almost as a separate branch.

Now; how to fit in private sidings, which themselves justify acquisition of grain vans, and also generate interesting shunting moves. Goods train arrives in CW, and the local pilot engine (a last outpost of a wheezing J15 in the early 60s, as Crosleys and (AEC railcars (IRM??) increasingly become the oprder of the day) shuttles wagons for two private sidings "up the line". This is imagined to be perhaps a mile away; think Fry Cadbury Siding / Shannonvale - i.e. not actually IN a station or within a built up area. So when the goods arrives, vans will be detached and taken away to each of these places and empties brought back.

I always think that some sort of "reason" adds interest to a layout. 

Since I don't really have room for an actual private siding for either, the best solution is that both the private premises are, in reality, the fiddle yard itself off-scene!

 

 

14 hours ago, Colonel said:

All you need to justify almost any type of traffic is a siding going off scene - either a different track back to the fiddle yard, or a second yard…..

[spudfan]

You could look at something like this. It would give inspiration and you could use it as a basis of your system. The added bonus is that it would list the parts you need. Regarding your "plan" above. I did something similar and worked off rough sketches like yours. The main thing is to work your ideas into the space you have.

OO-9/HOe Setrack Planbook – PECO

[Ironroad]

May I offer the following for those who may wish to use open wagons with the inherent problem of how to create the illusion of full wagons entering a plant and empties leaving it. The attached is a rough sketch of a scheme that it may be possible to incorporate in some layouts  (with apologies to JHB for using Dugort Harbour for illustration purposes). 

The idea is to create a passing loop on a continuous circuit with the centre section of the loop concealed by a scenic break and placing industries either side of the break. The sketch shows a mine and a processing plant, allowing empties to enter the mine and continue through out of the processing plant, destined for the mine and for a full train to enter the processing plant and emerge as a full train from the mine destined for the processing plant.  As an aside it gives some purpose to trail chasing.

 

[Andy Cundick]

The simple solution using open wagons is tarpaulins which can hide a multitude of sins Andy

[leslie10646]

The simplest solution of all is to use COVERED vans. While I can't offer statistics, even in the steam era most goods trains seem to have been covered wagons - just look at the photographs which do exist.

That said, Andy is quite right to suggest using tarpaulins - somewhere on this site there's a photo of quite a string of corrugateds at Kilkenny covered in tarpaulins.

Of course, in the North, we could have a nice bit of variety with conflats and colourful bread containers!

[jhb171achill]

57 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

May I offer the following for those who may wish to use open wagons with the inherent problem of how to create the illusion of full wagons entering a plant and empties leaving it. The attached is a rough sketch of a scheme that it may be possible to incorporate in some layouts  (with apologies to JHB for using Dugort Harbour for illustration purposes). 

The idea is to create a passing loop on a continuous circuit with the centre section of the loop concealed by a scenic break and placing industries either side of the break. The sketch shows a mine and a processing plant, allowing empties to enter the mine and continue through out of the processing plant, destined for the mine and for a full train to enter the processing plant and emerge as a full train from the mine destined for the processing plant.  As an aside it gives some purpose to trail chasing.

 

Most ingenious, yes!

[Andy Cundick]

2 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

The simplest solution of all is to use COVERED vans. While I can't offer statistics, even in the steam era most goods trains seem to have been covered wagons - just look at the photographs which do exist.

That said, Andy is quite right to suggest using tarpaulins - somewhere on this site there's a photo of quite a string of corrugateds at Kilkenny covered in tarpaulins.

Of course, in the North, we could have a nice bit of variety with conflats and colourful bread containers!

I seem to recollect somewhere that the ratio was 80% vans to 20% opens the opposite to the UK.Andy 

[jhb171achill]

37 minutes ago, Andy Cundick said:

I seem to recollect somewhere that the ratio was 80% vans to 20% opens the opposite to the UK.Andy 

Correct on all railways in Ireland - possibly even higher than 80% were standard covered vans.

[jhb171achill]

Just found this. Senior took this in the 1940s. I do not know where, but the buildings style strongly suggests on the NCC somewhere. A nice example of a small industrial sidi9ng (I presume!)

(H C A Beaumont collection)

 

[Galteemore]

 I think it’s Carrickfergus. Catholic chapel and Irish Sea in background. Harbour branch off to left. Very rare view 

Edited January 7 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

 I think it’s Carrickfergus. Catholic chapel and Irish Sea in background. Harbour branch off to left. Very rare view 

So is this a siding off the actual Harbour branch? If so, I did not know there were any. Your dad would know chapter and verse, I'm sure.

[Galteemore]

4 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

So is this a siding off the actual Harbour branch? If so, I did not know there were any. Your dad would know chapter and verse, I'm sure.

Looking at my 1st edition of ‘Irish Railways Today’, looks as if it’s a siding that was parallel to the branch, but description fits the photo ! 

[jhb171achill]

4 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Looking at my 1st edition of ‘Irish Railways Today’, looks as if it’s a siding that was parallel to the branch, but description fits the photo ! 

I don't get the location - where's the main Larne line? Behind the photographer, or away round the corner to the left?

[Galteemore]

Round to the left. Photographer is standing near Clipperstown bridge facing Carrick. Dropped a pin in general vicinity. Harbour branch was very clear when I grew up there / all swept away now. Looking at it again, I think that the factory it mentions may have been at the old TA barracks on the other side of the line. I’ve seen a few pics of  Clipperstown in the 40s and it’s quite hard to place all the sidings etc that it once had. GR Mahon has some similar shots in the IRRS Flickr - search ‘Carrickfergus’

 

Edited January 8 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

Is the siding the salt works?