Tralee To Blennerville Old Railway
share
Tralee To Blennerville Old Railway |
|
|
History... The idea of building a railway between Tralee and Dingle was first approved by the Privy Council in 1884 but no further progress was made until, four years later, and with the support of a Kerry Knight, Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, approval was again given. The "Tralee and Dingle Light Railway" was incorporated on 17 September 1888. The experienced railway contractor Robert Worthington had wanted to lay the rails to the standard Irish gauge of 5 foot 3 inches. However, one look at the required severe gradients and curvature, led to the three foot gauge being adopted. The line took three years to build, the contractor starting at Blennerville, with each mile costing £2700. Nearly all of the thirty one miles of railway ran next to the roadway - with no fencing for much of the way. The rails also crossed from one side of the road to the other from time to time. There were mostly no gates and trains assumed the right of way. Speeds rarely exceeded 12 miles per hour. The "branch" from Lower Camp to Castlegregory was six miles long, few severe gradients and had a different character from the "main line". By 1925, the line was in a poor state and was taken over by the Great Southern Railway. Passenger and goods traffic continued until the outbreak of Second World War when the Castlegregory Branch closed completely and passenger services withdrawn on the remaining sections. The fuel shortages brought on by the War caused the line to run "as required" from 1944 to 1947, and thereafter trains, for cattle, ran only on the last Saturday of each month for the Dingle Fair until 1953 when the line finally closed for normal traffic. Shortly after the last cattle train on 26 June 1953, a special train carried 45 local people from Tralee to Dingle organised for the benefit of the Light Railway Transport League and the Irish Railway Record Society. A small group of Dingle schoolchildren enjoyed a short trip by train up the Mail Road from Dingle Station by way of celebration amidst much local regret at the final closing of their "Dingle Railway". Note: much of the above taken from the fuller account formerly on www.dodingle.com. Also check out http://www.tdlr.org.uk/index.htm for more photos.
“River Lee Nature Walk and Cycle Way”. Here is view near O’Hara Bridge just next to the Aquadome at B...
Ashe Memorial Tralee Town Park in the heart of Tralee Town with children's playground area
Tralee Town Park in the heart of Tralee Town with children's playground area
Blennerville Windmill is a tower mill located in Blennerville, County Kerry.? It was built by Sir Row...
Glanteenassig is located 24km west of Tralee off the N86 at the village of Aughacasla, County Kerry, ...
Presentation of Trophy to Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne: Winners: :Full Time Score: Munsters Schools Cor...
An aerial panorama of the main beach at Ballybunion beach, Co.Kerry, Ireland. Taken in early 2010 thi...
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.
