<
Irish Railway Record
Society
JOURNAL
193
MYLES
MUNSEY
Both
of these unusual railways were visited on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 May 2017.
Access to both lines was free and easy and the very approachable staff could not
have been more charming and engaging.
The
first railway visited was the Attymon system, which may be found around 3 miles
south of Attymon station on the road towards Kiltullagh.
The
visit was made to establish whether they were still operating, as they were
supposed to have closed down at the end of 2016. Both systems are privately
operated by the Attymon Peat Company, having been sold to them by Bord na Móna
in 1989. This gives them an air of delightful individuality. Both are rustic in
the extreme and the rail-borne equipment is arcane to say the least! The same is
also holds true of the peat cutting and loading equipment, whilst the track is
of a very temporary nature as reflected in its eccentric geometry. That both
survived into 2017 is astonishing as the infrastructure is extremely old. That
is not to denigrate it. You could not wish for something more off-beat than
this. These are small operations – a far cry from the multi-wagon operations
of Bord na Móna that serve the giant peat burning power stations of West Offaly
(aka Shannonbridge) and Lanesborough.
Both
lines were just about still operating, but are hanging on by a thread and are
due to close around August 2017, so my arrival was both timely and fortuitous.
The actual arrival time at Attymon could not have been better planned as a
loaded train had been out on the bog and was due back at the works within
minutes.
Right
on cue the loaded train came into view along a heavily grass-grown railway, then
paused briefly to rearrange wagons for the tippler.
At
Attymon, a high line runs to the tippler and drying sheds. There are three
tracks. The outer ones serve the drying sheds, whilst the middle track serves
the tippler. There is a small works at a lower level, which means that locos
have to climb steeply to join the main system. The line runs about one mile to
the west before splitting into two. One fork turns south out onto the bog, the
other fork leads to a loading area.
The
tippler consists of a ramp that tips at 45 degrees and disgorges its contents
into a trailer below. When I say trailer I am talking about a small version that
can be towed behind your average family car. The Attymon Peat Company through
its two fascinating systems serves small time, local, domestic customers. The
product is peat ‘logs’ -
irregular shaped pieces of peat that are cut and loaded out on the bog. These
peat logs are not, it would seem, of optimum quality and demand is low. 2016 was
according to the owners a bad year. This, plus the fact that the bogs have
nearly been exhausted of peat, means that both systems will soon, unavoidably
close.
After
the depot staff had paused for lunch, we were invited to follow in their
footsteps and head out to Clonkeen. This is their second system and lies north
of the main Athlone to Galway railway line on a minor road heading west towards
Torkeel.
The
set-up at Clonkeen was similar to the Attymon system, with two drying tracks
flanking a centre track that leads to the tippler. Again the tippler can serve a
road vehicle trailer waiting below. The hospitality shown on the afternoon visit
was even better and a very bumpy ride was offered aboard the two locos. We
headed out along the ‘main line’, which splits into two. The higher-level
line continues out of sight to a fuelling area whilst the lower line turned
sharp right down a severe gradient onto the bog. At this point, I will explain
that two locos are commonly used as this assists shunting, but also is most
beneficial, certainly at Clonkeen, for pulling a string of wagons up a fierce
gradient off the bog. The train descended into a very bleak and windswept
landscape to load from the already prepared peat pile. In order to do this
entailed a run of around ¾ mile before the train with its six empty wagons came to stand in the
middle of nowhere. Not a house, not any human soul (other than ourselves) could
be seen. The area is bleak enough in early summer but conditions on the bog in
winter must be appalling. We were told that heavy oilskins are issued for a wet
day as there is not a scrap of shelter nor any form of heating or drying to be
had anywhere.
The
peat pile was covered in plastic sheeting and this plus the pegs holding it had
to be removed first using a special hand tool. The next job was to put some fuel
into the loading machine. This resembled a giant bulldozer equipped with
caterpillar tracks and side guides to steer the peat logs into the optimum
position. This did not always happen and a few were missed as the machine inched
along. As it did so the train was run alongside to keep level with the loading
chute. Any logs that failed to be picked up were forked back onto the conveyor
belt, my friend and I helping this along by getting stuck in! It probably took
around 20 minutes to load each wagon so after around an hour the first three
were loaded high and almost overflowing. At that point though, a bolt sheared
from the drive belt (a temporary fix from some weeks previously not having
lasted), and try as they might, the two-man workforce was unable to effect a
repair.
So
with a half-empty train there was nothing for it but to head for home and shunt
the loaded wagons into the drying shed.
The
trip back was again bumpy and uncomfortable but thoroughly enjoyable. Once the
wagons had been berthed in the drying sheds, that was the end of operations for
the day.
I
feel very privileged to have witnessed these extraordinary systems at first hand
and the likely passing of a bygone age. To have been offered a ride on the train
and to have helped with the loading process was a memorable experience.
Thanks
to the IRRS Editorial team for facilitating recordal of an account of these two
systems for posterity

Copyright © 2018 by Irish
Railway Record Society Limited
Revised: February 15, 2018
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