Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR) was a major Irish railway. It operated from Cork and served towns along the southern coastal strip to the west. It had a route length of 93.75 miles (150km), all single line. The railway mainly carried tourist traffic, with many road car routes connecting with the line, including The Prince of Wales Route from Bantry to Killarney.

Contents 1 History 2 Closure 3 References 4 Statistics 5 See also

[edit] History

The CB&SCR was incorporated under the Cork and Bandon Railway Act, 1845 and opened for traffic between Bandon and Ballinhassig in December 1851. This required the construction of a half-mile (0.8km) tunnel for access to Cork, which delayed completion. A coach service was provided until the tunnel opened. The company suffered financial problems for the first 25 years. Subsequent extensions to the Railway included:

• The Cork and Kinsale Junction Railway (C&KJR), 10.75 miles (17km). This was a branch line to the coast, serving the fishing town of Kinsale and was purchased by the CBSCR in 1879.
• The West Cork Railway (WCR) (Bandon to Dunmanway, 17.5 miles (28km), opened June 1866 and operated as a separate concern.
• Ilen Valley Railway (IVR) (Dunmanway to Skibbereen (1877), 16 miles (26km).

On 1 January 1880 the CB&SCR took over the C&KJR, the WCR and the lease of the IVR including its proposed Bantry extension. This completed the main line of the CBSCR.

• The Bantry Extension opened for traffic 1 July 1881, 11.25 miles (18km). In order to give the railway access to deep water, a further extension was opened which operated between 1909 and 1946.
  An elderly man from Scart, Bantry recalled seeing the line laid as a child and removed as an old man.
• The Clonakilty Extension Railway (CER) (1886), 9 miles (14km)
• The Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Light Railway (1891), a branch from the (CER)
• The Baltimore Railway (1893) extension from Skibbereen, 8 miles (13km), opened May 1893.
• The Shannonvale Horse Railway. The Bennett family operated a flour milling industry at Shannonvale, 2 miles north of Clonakilty. In the early 1890s the railway company agreed to provide a siding half a mile in length to link the railway with the mill. Horse traction was used when going uphill, but was unnecessary on the return journey due to the slope.

[edit] Closure

Due to economic problems and falling passenger numbers the line closed on the 1st. April 1961.[1] The tracks were later sold to Nigeria and the land of the permanent way sold to local farmers.

[edit] References

• The Southern Star Centenary Supplement,Tom Lyons, 1989.
• See The Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway Vol 1/2/3 by Colm Creedon deceased, privately published 1986 on this and other Cork Railways.
• On removal of Bantry line source Daniel O'Donovan, Durrus, Bantry, oral history.
• Steam and Steel, Sean Kelly, Bantry Historical and Archaeolgical Society vol 2 ISSN 0791-6612

[edit] Statistics

• Rolling stock: 20 locomotives, 68 coaching vehicles, 455 goods vehicles

[edit] See also

History of rail transport in Ireland Durrus and District History