Tuam

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This is an old post from the old IRN from about 10 years ago, hgricer had posted a photo of the cabin in Tuam, (he might be good enough to post it again, if he still has it). My grandad and dad both worked the cabin, my dad was working the morning after it burned down, in 1962, the cabin was destroyed, but he knew how to count the levers to work the yard

 

Anyway, I wanted to repost this in case it got lost in the internet haze, the men involved deserved to be remembered, and who knows maybe somebody related to them will someday find it.

That picture marks the scene of two tragic accidents

At  the base of the signal post in the picture is attached a small metal cross. This marks the spot where in 1942 a shunter was killed. He was shunting a train in the yard when he stepped back onto the loop. he was hit by a loco coming back tender first from the beet factory. His son, Bobby Healy, later became a loco driver in Galway. The upright of the cross on the signal post is still there today.

A few years later, Tom Murray, a signalman left the cabin one night to fetch some water from the dormitory which was located past the turntable. There was no light in the yard and passing the turntable, he must have slipped, hit his head on the handrail and was knocked unconscious into the pit. He landed face down in into a small pool of water in the well of the pit and drowned.

As you can see from the picture, the cabin itself is not the original, that burned down overnight  in 1962,  The chimney of the  stove going through the wooden roof was a  bad combination which had nearly burned the structure on a previous occasion.. There are still initials and dates of former railwaymen visible on the brickwork of the cabin.

 

 

 

 

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[h gricer]

Wasn't too sure if this is the photo you were referring to, anyway I took this photo of Tuam signal cabin on Saturday 5th October 1985, 35 years ago, departing on the Éireann Counties Crusader pathfinder rail tour.

 

Regards

h.gricer