StevieB Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 The line from Ballina to Killala is probably one of the least recorded lines in Ireland. Apart from short pieces of prose on Wikipedia and JHB's WTT's, I have come across absolutely nothing else, certainly no photos of the line. The only thing I have come across is an aerial view of Killala bay on alamy.com, which shows the station site. Does anyone know of anything? Stephen Quote
Noel Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 The line from Ballina to Killala is probably one of the least recorded lines in Ireland. Apart from short pieces of prose on Wikipedia and JHB's WTT's, I have come across absolutely nothing else, certainly no photos of the line. The only thing I have come across is an aerial view of Killala bay on alamy.com, which shows the station site. Does anyone know of anything? Stephen Initially I got confused reading you post and misread it as the old short Killaloe/Ballina line that used to run from Limerick via Birdhill to Killaloe. (Lexdisia strikes again). Sorry can't help about Killala. As an aside, there are good photo's of the old Killaloe line in the Lakeside hotel in Killaloe as well as plenty of memorabilia posters (e.g. adverts, excursions, special fares, etc). Part of the old station is now a fashionable bistro and another a family home on the edge of the Shannon. Quote
Horsetan Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 The line from Ballina to Killala is probably one of the least recorded lines in Ireland. Apart from short pieces of prose on Wikipedia and JHB's WTT's, I have come across absolutely nothing else, certainly no photos of the line. .... The former course of the line is certainly fairly difficult to trace on Google Maps satellite. A lot of it has been ploughed back into the fields, and only the tree line gives away the remainder. Quote
jhb171achill Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 I carried out a good bit of research on the line some years ago, with the intention of doing a follow up book to "Rails to Achill". There's nothing much to tell! Certainly not enough to fill a booklet, let alone a book! But it would make a good branch line model. I'll do a resume on it when I get home this evening and post it here. The service was mostly two mixed trains, or a mixed and a passenger, per day with no Sunday service. Motive power was whatever was on the Ballina line - generally a J18 0.6.0 or a G2 2.4.0, and the branch set was the Ballina train. This was usually one or two six wheelers with a six wheeled passenger brake. The line closed in 1934. Quote
aclass007 Posted November 20, 2015 Posted November 20, 2015 The line from Ballina to Killala is probably one of the least recorded lines in Ireland. Apart from short pieces of prose on Wikipedia and JHB's WTT's, I have come across absolutely nothing else, certainly no photos of the line. The only thing I have come across is an aerial view of Killala bay on alamy.com, which shows the station site. Does anyone know of anything? Stephen If you go to the satellite imagery on google maps, you can just about make out most of the alignment of the trackbed between Killala and the point where the line crossed the Ballina to Killala road. There is practically no evidence of the line left between that point and Ballina, with a large section of it built upon in the greater Ballina area... Quote
Mayner Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 The station layout is interesting with a lot more on the traffic than the revenue side. http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,520833,829850,11,9 There may be photographs of the line before closure in the Stephenson Locomotive Society collection http://www.stephensonloco.org.uk/SLSphotocollec.htm. Some of the UK enthusiasts/photographers may have recorded the Killala Branch as part of their haj. to Achill, Dingle and other threatened lines during the early 30s. Quote
aclass007 Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 The station layout is interesting with a lot more on the traffic than the revenue side.http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,520833,829850,11,9 There may be photographs of the line before closure in the Stephenson Locomotive Society collection http://www.stephensonloco.org.uk/SLSphotocollec.htm. Some of the UK enthusiasts/photographers may have recorded the Killala Branch as part of their haj. to Achill, Dingle and other threatened lines during the early 30s. At least some of the buildings are still there, but I'm not sure what the situation regarding gaining access is. Any access gates I went to were locked. I got as far as the goods store once. Maybe I should have been a little braver. Looking across the bay, the water tower and some other buildings is visible. There are a couple of photos of the station on a public information board outside the entrance to the station. Quote
Riversuir226 Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 Check out the os maps on the ordance survey website, the historic maps are a great resource for track plans, signal & other railwayana locations. Quote
StevieB Posted November 21, 2015 Author Posted November 21, 2015 I have come across a couple of interesting items and http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1932/sro/16/made/en/html.The first is the only photo I have come across of the station and what a beauty - one or more double slips across the station throat on what is, to all intents and purposes, a light railway! The second relates to the reduction in train services prior to closure - government recognition of the parlous state of GSR's finances. Stephen Quote
StevieB Posted November 21, 2015 Author Posted November 21, 2015 Considering how close Killala is to Ballina, there was considerable duplication of facilities, turntable, two-road engine shed and carriage shed. It was clearly intended to part of something bigger. Stephen Quote
jhb171achill Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 ".....Some of the UK enthusiasts/photographers may have recorded the Killala Branch as part of their haj. to Achill, Dingle and other threatened lines during the early 30s....." Neither Camwell or Casserley managed it. I'm pretty sure J I C Boyd (who I knew) didn't either.... Quote
jhb171achill Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 Inteesting photo of the double slip - I'd forgotten about that! The story about running out of track, the line being built with bends etc., as well as the version of possible extensions, is utter nonsense from start to finish, as IRM readers would gather, I am sure! Quote
Mayner Posted November 21, 2015 Posted November 21, 2015 Considering how close Killala is to Ballina, there was considerable duplication of facilities, turntable, two-road engine shed and carriage shed. It was clearly intended to part of something bigger. Stephen The stone or brick built buildings, turntable, two road engine shed and carriage shed were a MGWR standard requirement for Western Branches in the 1890s. The Achill, Clifden and Killala branches were financed by the Government, Loughea and Ballinrobe by local companies with the ratepayers guaranteeing the capital. The MGWR was much more demanding of the government in terms of minimum requirements for construction standards and facilities than the GSWR. The MGWR western branches were much more main line in character than the GSWR Kerry branches which lasted much longer. Quote
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