CBSCR Preservation / Restoration at Ballineen & Enniskeane

[DiveController]

On Saturday June 8th '19 some inhabitants of Enniskeane/ Ballineen Co. Cork unveiled a large model of a 4-6-0T Bandon tank engine hauling a brace of freight wagons carrying some typical goods of yesteryear. The roadside model is maybe 20' long by 3' high and is positioned on the roadside on the western end  of Inis Cein to mark the intended restoration of the Enniskeane & Ballineen station of the former Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway. A group of about 22 locals with a dozen of those quite active within the group have plans to renovate the station house with the intent of preserving it and converting it to a rollaway museum. The station house itself is probably the best preserved example of a former CBSCR and in a relatively good state almost 70 years after closure although much work remains to be done. I understand that RTE and local news media were to cover the vent which I was unable to attend. The model itself was assembled by some enthusiasts from the Clonakilty Model Railway Village to withstand the humid climatic elements in West Cork. I'll post some photos when I get a chance tomorrow but here's an older photo from Fred Deane, the station house itself hasn't changed much since

 

[StevieB]

Railway preservation doesn’t seem to come easily in Ireland, so we wish them well.

Stephen

[jhb171achill]

9 hours ago, StevieB said:

Railway preservation doesn’t seem to come easily in Ireland, so we wish them well.

Stephen

Correct, and I agree totally.

If there’s some way of contacting them I can give them some old timetables of the line.

[banntry]

Yes hope they succeed in their efforts . Would be a good station building to model

[DiveController]

If I understood correctly it seems like they have found a significant amount of funding from various sources. The station itself (being the 'newer' CBSCR station) is situated not 100 yards south of the R586. This is the main Bandon-Bantry road which is the main street of the town but the station house is scarcely visible form the intersection. I believe that I read there were originally separate stations for Ballineen & Enniskeane not a mile from each other impractical as this sounds.

After seeking the usual planning permission had been received they've erected the following freight train on the roadside proximate to a pedestrian crossing to highlight the turnoff. I'd guess that this is a 1:3 representation of a 'Bandon tank', a term I'm assured was never used in that area. The remainder of the model (The Sod) may not be entirely prototypical but I think serves as a reminder of the railway all the same. The beets are modeled from the prototype (fodder beet, I believe as they were pretty large), cleaved prior to making any moulds of the beets. Churns, flour and bags of mushrooms representative of the goods that would have been carried on the original line. 

 

On 6/10/2019 at 11:39 AM, jhb171achill said:

Correct, and I agree totally.

If there’s some way of contacting them I can give them some old timetables of the line.

They're on Facebook I understand but I don't have that. If anyone has a link. I'd be grateful if it could be posted here

Edited June 13, 2019 by DiveController

[Galteemore]

Nice little tribute to the line - and a fair representation of a CBSCR tank  

[minister_for_hardship]

"Sí Gaoithe"  (sp.?) was the name of a very early C&BR well tank supplied by Adams of Bow,  the 4-6-0T Bandon tanks never carried names.

[DERAILED]

It's the local Tidy Towns Association behind the project https://www.facebook.com/Ballineen-and-Enniskeane-Tidy-Towns-Association-366972203925059/ so I guess trains won't be running to Albert Quay anytime soon.

[DiveController]

Thanks for posting that @DERAILED.

Maybe so but we should applaud some efforts at remembrance/restoration all the same. All too soon, few will remember the line first hand at all.  From another source, I understand that there were some questions about reopening the line (maybe as far as Bandon, I'm not entirely sure) in recent years. The are about 130 land/property owner that now partially occupy some of the former trackbed and even viaducts. Monetarily this would have been a nightmare to agree on anything let alone the 'compensation' required to facilitate something like that. Then there would the problem of the City South Link Road having been built on the trackbed of the former CBSCR. It would have been interesting to see a LUAS style tramway on the initial section to Albert Quay!