Irish Railway Record Society

In Memoriam.

Hill of Howth Tramway

17 June 1901 to 31 May 1959

R C FLEWITT

Fifty years before publication of this JOURNAL, enthusiasts from far and wide as well as the general public mourned the very hasty closure of the Hill of Howth Tramway, just 8 miles from Dublin. This much loved institution, for it was more than a mere public transport service, is still sadly missed by all who used it frequently or otherwise. In its final years it had become unique as the last tramway in the world with an exclusively open topped fleet of passenger cars.

The line was promoted by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) through its 1897 Hill of Howth Tramway Act. Like many other lines it was planned and constructed in an effort to exclude a would-be rival concern from territory considered to be the preserve of an incumbent line, in this case the Howth Branch of the GNR(I). In 1894, the Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramway Company began to promote a tramway from Dollymount to Howth and the Hill of Howth as an extension of the Dublin United Tramway Company's line from Dublin. Most of the promoters were directors or otherwise connected with the DUTCo. Much acrimony was exchanged between the GNR(I) and the CHH, the title of which emerged as "tramroad" rather than "tramway" in its final title. The respective combatants ended up as the GNR(I) with powers to build its Hill of Howth Tramway from Sutton Station to Howth Station via the Hill of Howth and the CHH with powers to build a line from Dollymount to Howth East Pier, which opened first on 26 July 1900. Considerable expense was incurred as both sides fought to secure their respective Acts of Parliament to authorise the raising of capital and construction of the lines. As happened so often elsewhere, the real winners were the many lawyers and other "experts" employed by both sides.

There is not sufficient space here to chronicle the life and protracted death throes of the Hill of Howth Tramway. Suffice it to say that it always operated at a loss, as recorded by a GNR(I) file in the IRRS Archives. Undoubtedly it added some value to the Howth Branch, but neither residential traffic nor day trippers expanded as anticipated in the beginning. As a result only the bare minimum of routine maintenance and renewal could be done. The major railway strike in 1933 closed the line until 15 May. An attempt to economise by substituting railbuses for the trams in 1934 was a technical failure. The two trial trips were a ripe source of exaggerated stories of hair-raising runaways and de-railments. The road buses of the time could not operate safely over the steeply graded adjoining roads to provide a substitute service. By the early 1950s, the deteriorated condition of all aspects of the tramway gave grave cause for concern. Further trials with buses showed them to be sufficiently improved that new double-deckers could cope safely with the gradients but the local authority considered the roads too narrow for a regular bus service.

Trams 5 and 8 were withdrawn in 1957. The others carried on, operated by a small team of dedicated drivers, conductors and maintenance men. The GNR(I) was succeeded by the GNR Board from 1 October 1953. This in turn was ceased operations on 30 September 1958 and the Hill of Howth Tramway became part of the empire of Córas Iompair Éireann. After 57 years of management by railway officers, CIÉ substituted a different regime of management as part of its then Road Passenger Section.

This lasted until 14 May 1959 when as little as 17 days notice of closure on 31 May were given. The weather for those last few bitter-sweet days was very fine. Massive numbers of passengers came from far and wide for nostalgic last runs, culminating in the unforgettable scenes of 30 and 31 May 1959.

The sad reality at the end was that the entire line and all of equipment was completely worn out, all the spare parts had been used up and continued operation would have become unsafe. Those who advocated its retention as a tourist attraction did not have the funds to build what would have amounted to a complete working replica, cars and all. Neither residents nor tourists to support it existed in sufficient numbers, then nor indeed since.

All of that said, we can and do still miss it very much indeed.

Revised: January 04, 2016 .