Irish Railway Record Society
TRACK
WESTERN
RAIL CORRIDOR
Preliminary
work to clear a path between Collooney and Claremorris commenced in February. By
March, the line between, and the station areas of Swinford, Kiltimagh and
Charlestown had been cleared and work was taking place between Kiltimagh and
Claremorris. Hedge cutting also took place between Athenry and Claremorris.
Mileposts have been renewed in the Athenry-Limerick section using MGWR style
mileposts and level crossings numbered with the prefix XE.
Mr
Eamon O’Cuiv TD, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs visited
Tubbercurry to view the line and said that he intends to proceed with its
preservation. He said ‘Now that Iarnród Éireann have completed the scoping
work on the line and have an accurate estimate of the costs involved, it is
hoped to finalise arrangements in relation to this funding as speedily as
possible’. This work will be undertaken in accordance with the Transport
21 plan where funds of ¤5m will be provided from the Department of Community,
Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to provide for the fencing and preservation of all
track and way-leaves from Claremorris to Collooney. Work will be carried out in
line with requirements on hedgerow clearance and bird nesting needs, with
newspapers stating that it could commence in September.
The
Minister said ‘The preservation of the right of way is vital to the long-term
goal of reopening the line from Limerick to Sligo and this work will signify the
Government’s clear intention in this regard’. The scheme must be approved by
the Board of IÉ and other relevant State interests before the preparatory work
can proceed.
In April, the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD told a delegation from the Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly of his commitment to progress work on the Western Rail Corridor as quickly as possible and had emphasised this at a recent meeting with the Chairman of IÉ.
TRACK
Limerick-Rosslare
Europort Work
continues at various locations. From Monday 13 February to Friday 17 February,
Limerick Junction-Waterford trains were replaced by bus between 08:30 and 17:00
to allow tamping and regulating ballast between Tipperary and Clonmel. Re-laying
with second-hand concrete sleepers and welded rail took place between
Wellingtonbridge and Taylorstown viaduct in February. One mile was re-laid, MP911/2-921/2.
In addition, MP805/8-81
was re-laid with second-hand materials.
Ballybrophy-Killonan
Junction Possessions to
re-lay and re-habilitate track continue. In late February/early March, the 10:10
Ballybrophy-Limerick was cancelled to allow work between Ballybrophy and
Roscrea. The line was also closed from 09:40 Thursday 20 April to 11:40 on
Monday 24 April for track excavations. All passenger and Kilmastulla (Birdhill)
- Limerick cement factory shale trains were cancelled. MP101/2-11
has been re-laid with second-hand materials.
Dublin-Cork Preparation work for the platforms for the new
station at Adamstown, near the site of the former Lucan South station, has taken
place. This included track alterations. Similar preparation work was also in
hand for the new Parkwest station between Cherry Orchard and Clondalkin. This
work will include slewing and lifting the track.
Athlone-Westport
New points and crossovers are being installed associated with the
re-signalling project. A new turnout has been installed at the Ballyhaunis end
of Castlerea, but the point blades are being left out until the signalling is
ready for commissioning. A new turnout and traps have been installed for the up
siding in Roscommon and additional track with concrete sleepers has been
installed to extend the loop (up side) at the Dublin end. To suit the alignment
over the bridge at the Claremorris end of Ballyhaunis station, the down line
will become the main route when the line is re-signalled.
Cork-Cobh
On Sunday 2 April, the crossover (No. 14) at the Little Island end of
North Esk was removed and replaced by plain track. The long siding is now
shortened and new buffer stop installed.
North Wall In recent years the track from the ‘Granaries’ to the sidings alongside the River Liffey via Sheriff Street level crossing, through the former Point Depot yard and across the road at the roundabout at the Toll Bridge has been used only for taking delivery of new rolling stock and locomotives. Many pictures have appeared in the JOURNAL of new vehicles being delivered on this track. It was taken out of service after the delivery of a set of 29000-class railcars on Wednesday 21 December. The track was cut and the temporary buffer stop at Sheriff Street level crossing was made permanent. It is understood that the yard at the Point Depot, now used as a car park, is to be developed and this was not conducive to a rail line running through it.
Navan-Kingscourt
A road-rail excavator was in action in April, clearing drains and removing fences erected across the line. Procurement IÉ awarded VAE of Vienna a contract for the supply and installation of hot axle-box detectors. The IÉ concrete sleeper factory in Portlaoise is currently capable of producing 1,000 sleepers per week, which due to re-laying projects such as the Western Rail Corridor, Glounthaune-Midleton and four-tracking Cherry Orchard-Hazelhatch, is not adequate for future needs. In February, IÉ advertised for the supply and delivery of additional 150,000 stressed concrete sleepers per annum for three years. They will come with rail fixings attached and will have the same 1:40 inclination as those manufactured in Portlaoise. The estimated cost was noted at ¤23m in the European Journal.
BRIDGES AND TUNNELS
At the request of Dublin City Council, advertisements have been removed from the Loop Line Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin. They were first put on the bridge in the 1960s. In return, IÉ received permission to erect advertisements at a number of different locations. The clock was also taken down, but the sign for DART/suburban trains at Tara Street remains. IÉ then sought contractors to paint the bridge; 8 spans from Tara Street to Beresford Place, a total length of 201m. The preparation was specified to be by water jetting, (minor repairs will be carried out by IÉ staff), the application of two-coat epoxy using brush and roller (no spraying allowed). IÉ estimated the value of the contract excluding VAT to range from ¤1.6m to ¤2.2m and work to take about five months. A new overbridge is under construction near MP701/2 between Clara and Clonnydonnin on the Portarlington-Galway line. When completed, it will allow closure of a number of adjacent unattended crossings on a curved section of line. New overbridges are being built at 63/4 and 71/2 miles Dublin-Cork near Lucan South. Major structural repairs are being carried out to span 13 of UB140 Waterford-Rosslare (Barrow Bridge). This repair work will be completed this summer. There were also major repairs carried out to UB186 Dublin-Rosslare (completed in January 06), to UB221 Dublin-Rosslare (completed in February 06) and to UB106 Dublin-Galway (Shannon Bridge at Athlone), which will be completed this summer. UB25 Navan-Drogheda was renewed on 5 May.
SIGNALLING
Re-signalling Work on re-signalling the Knockcroghery-Westport and Manulla Junction-Ballina lines continues. Signal bases have been erected at most stations with cables laid in trenches, which were normally dug well away from the running lines near the boundary fence. Signals were evident at Roscommon, Castlerea and Ballyhaunis by March. Work on a separate project to install colour light distant and stop signals at level crossings was also noticeable, with signals, cables, barrier machines and foundations for location cases and Re-locatable Equipment Buildings (REB) in evidence in April at several locations between Knockcroghery and Manulla Junction.
The re-signalling project on the Dublin-Rosslare Europort line is following the Mayo line. Colour light signals had been erected in Arklow and Rathdrum by March and in Rosslare Strand by April. Cable trenches, cables and foundations for location cases were also noted at these locations and at Enniscorthy. Both Mayo and Rosslare line schemes are scheduled to be commissioned in 2007. Connolly The 'P1 OFF' signal associated with signal CY47 on platform 1 was replaced by a banner repeater on 26 March.
Howth Junction-Malahide The wrong line signals on the up line at Portmarnock, which were installed temporarily as part of the DART upgrade work, were removed on 12 March.
LEVEL
CROSSINGS
Level Crossing Control Centres Work has commenced on converting the former goods store
at Athlone (GS&WR) into a Level Crossing Control Centre to monitor CCTV
level crossings. A similar centre has been designed for Mallow. These will cater
for the increasing number of level crossings now being automated.
Closures The
programme of closing unattended crossings to reduce the interface between
vehicle and farm activity and the railway continues at a steady pace. Closures
are achieved by installing underpasses, overpasses, constructing new roadways to
nearby roads or bridges or by purchasing the land on one side of the crossing
and then closing it. For example, there are now less than a half dozen open
unattended crossings between Dublin and Limerick Junction, down from one hundred
and forty some years ago.
In
March, IÉ applied for planning permission to Sligo County Council ‘to
construct an agricultural overbridge with associated roadworks (170m long),
embankments, walls, drainage, fencing, replacement cattle pen and safety
barriers at Knockbeg, Collooney, to facilitate the closure of Level Crossing
XS144’.
The
last remaining Automatic Half Barrier crossing (AHB) on the Dublin-Dundalk line
at Dromiskin is being replaced by a new road, which was under construction in
April. It will run parallel to the line towards an existing overbridge.
Upgrades
In many locations, traditional red-white wooden gates are being replaced
with lightweight gates made of red-white composite materials, which are
reflective in car headlights.
The remainder of this article appears in IRRS Journal number 160, published June 2006.