Tullow Branch

Irish Railway Record Society

Telegraphs to Tullow
TOM WALL

The Contractor Robert Worthington commenced construction of the Sallins-Tullow branch of the GS&WR in 1883 and the line opened to Baltinglass in September 1885. The Great Southern & Western Railway (Tullow Extension) Act, passed on 14 July 1884 sanctioned an extension to Tullow and the contract for building this section was also awarded to Worthington. Since it was intended to work the new line on the Block System, on the 17 October 1885, George Ilbery, the GS&WR Traffic Superintendent, wrote to the Post Office Secretary to arrange for the erection of the necessary poles and wires.

"This Company have in the course of construction, a railway in continuation of their Baltinglass terminus in the County Wicklow, to Tullow in the County of Carlow and I am directed to inform you that my Board are desirous that a line of telegraphs for their use should be erected along that branch upon the terms of the 46th Clause of the telegraph agreement dated 27 day of June 1883, the Company in due course complying with the conditions of Clause 45 of the same agreement.

My Company would require an instrument for speaking purposes at Tullow station, as well as the block instruments for the section between Baltinglass and Tullow.

The construction of the branch line is not yet sufficiently far advanced to admit of telegraph poles being placed in position, but I shall give due notice when it shall have arrived at such a state as to allow of the work being gone on with."

The Clause 46 referred to by Mr Ilbery concerned the erection and maintenance of wires and instruments by the PO and the payment of the costs involved. Clause 45 obliged the Railway Company to grant to the Postmaster General the same rights and privileges on new lines as he enjoyed on existing lines. It was intended that the intermediate station at Rathvilly should be a block post, so four Preece's Block instruments were required for the sections Baltinglass-Rathvilly and Rathvilly-Tullow. The "speaking" instrument mentioned was not necessarily a telephone, as the term was frequently used for the Morse telegraph that the signalmen used for conversing. In this instance it was to be a Morse sounder.

On the 9 November, William Louth, the PO Superintending Engineer, dispatched Inspectors Sheridan and Tansley to make a "conjoint" survey of the line and on the 28th, Mr Sheridan reported back with an estimate of cost and the intention to use one special train to distribute the poles. The Railway Company asked the PO to be ready to commence work in any subsequent month and on the 23 February 1886, Mr Ilbery wrote to Mr Louth:

"Mr Bayley [GS&WR Engineer] informs me that he has intimated to you that the telegraph poles can now be erected along the line nearly the whole way from Baltinglass to Tullow and I shall be much obliged by your kindly having the work proceeded with at once. It is the desire of my Directors to open the line to Tullow if they can, on 1st May next."

By the 4 March, Mr Louth had received the block instruments and batteries and he warned Mr Sheridan "we must not be late". The latter arranged with the GS&WR to run a special train of an engine and ten pairs of trucks from Kingsbridge on Sunday the 21 March to carry the poles and stores and a gang of ten men to the new line. In a telegram, Mr Ilbery advised Mr Louth that the special could "go entire distance on new line". However, things did not go according to plan on the Sunday, as Mr Sheridan reported to Mr Louth:

"The special went through satisfactorily today, so far as our part was concerned and so far as we were able to run - but a deplorable and vexatious bungle was made of it between the Contractor and the Railway Company. The new line was not fit for the main-line engine to run any portion of the way. The Contractor's engine took us eight miles and could go no further. I was obliged to bring back 57 of the poles and two wagons of small stores to Rathvilly and leave them there for the present. I had walked through the whole line yesterday and so far as the drenching rain and heavy mud could allow me to see, I was prepared for this failure and called for [instructions] last night and this morning on an advice to postpone running. I await further instructions on the disposal of the five trucks lying at Rathvilly."

A cold, wet and mud-stained Mr Sheridan can hardly be blamed for wanting to postpone the work. However, in the absence of instructions to the contrary, the special had to run on Sunday. The next day, Mr Louth informed Mr Ilbery of the events of Sunday and requested him to arrange as to when the gang could be sent back to distribute the remaining stores. Mr Ilbery apparently conducted his own inquiries and did not reply until the 17 April:

"With reference to your letter of 22nd March, I am told there was no reason why the trucks should not have gone on to Tullow on 21st ult and the road is no better now than it was then. If you do not wish to have the poles sent over the temporary road, it will be some time before they can go forward, but if you like, they can be sent over the temporary road any Sunday you name. The Contractor does not think there would be any danger in sending them on now, as a light engine could be used."

Mr Louth then wrote to Mr Sheridan, referring to the decision to cut short the journey of the special train: "I do not understand that you declined to proceed." The latter, to justify his action, replied with a fuller explanation of what happened:

"The exact particulars of what occurred are as follows. When the special arrived at Baltinglass from Kingsbridge, I was informed that the main line engine could go no further, but that the Contractor's heavy engine was under steam ready to take us on as far as the 8 mile post where a lighter engine would meet us, the road at that point not admitting the passing of the Contractor's heavy engine. When we got to the 8 mile post, the driver of the lighter engine declined to take our heavy trucks on for two reasons - one was that no instructions had reached him - the other that their own small trucks had tumbled over the embankment the previous evening, owing to the weakness of the temporary road and he would not be responsible but that the heavy trucks would do the same.

I left the discussion between the two drivers, one of whom I remember threatened the other with the consequences of refusing to bring us on. Several of our men were listening."

The PO gang who would have to travel with the heavy trucks doubtless warmly appreciated the driver’s prudence. On the same day as the above was written, 20 April, Mr Ilbery put some more pressure on the PO, inquiring about the progress of the work of erecting the wires, saying that he expected the Government Inspector to inspect the line about the middle of May and hoping to open the line on the 1 June. Mr Louth replied to this on the same day:

"I thought it had been made clear to you in my letter of 22nd ult that the only reason why the distribution was not completed was because the driver of the Contractor's engine refused to proceed beyond the 8th mile post because some of their own small trucks had run off the temporary track on the previous evening. I shall be glad to complete distribution as soon as you can arrange for it. I am told, however, that the stores we had to leave at Rathvilly have been unloaded from the trucks there by your people".

Locomotive 171 shunting cattle wagons at Baltinglass for the local fair, 16 March 1959. (Photo Michael Davies)

Mr Ilbery took his time replying to this and on the 29 April, Mr Louth sent him a telegram asking for a reply and saying that the work of erecting the wires could not commence until the stores had been distributed. Mr Ilbery eventually replied on the 4 May to say that he was arranging to have the stores distributed on next Sunday the 9th and asked how many trucks would be required. Mr Louth replied by telegram the next day:

"We left poles and other stores loaded on trucks at Rathvilly. If they are still there, we shall require no further trucks. I heard your people had unloaded and returned them. If so, we require three pairs of "Aspinalls" and one flat truck sent down at once for reloading and distribution on Sunday."

The "Aspinalls" referred to were apparently a type of wagon designed by John Aspinall, who was the GS&WR Locomotive Superintendent at that time. Mr Ilbery replied that he would have the necessary trucks sent to Rathvilly on Saturday and a special engine and van would leave Kingsbridge at 10am on Sunday. On Friday he telegraphed Mr Louth to say that only the stores had been unloaded at Rathvilly, the poles were still on their trucks. The confusion over the wagons having been sorted out, the work went ahead on Sunday and Mr Sheridan duly reported to Mr Louth on Monday the 10th:

"The work went off all right. There was a slight hitch which delayed us for a couple of hours owing to its being found that a temporary bridge was too low to let the main line engine pass and we had to go back and wait while the Contractor's small engine was being put under steam

The remainder of this article appears in IRRS Journal number 148, published June 2002.