Harcourt Street railway line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Harcourt Street railway line (Irish: Seanlíne Iarnróid Shráid Fhearchair) ran from Harcourt Street in Dublin through the southern suburbs to Bray.
Contents |
[edit] History
The line was built by William Dargan for the Dublin and Wicklow Railway (D&WR) and opened in 1854. The D&WR was renamed as the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR) in 1860. It was renamed again in 1907 as the Dublin and South Eastern Railway (D&SER) before finally being absorbed by the Great Southern Railways (GSR) in 1925. The route was closed at the end of 1958 by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ).
On 14 February 1900, a train from Enniscorthy failed to stop and went through the buffers and the wall of the station[1], sending debris over Hatch Street. Nobody was killed, though the driver, William Hyland, suffered some injuries.
[edit] Route
The 12½ mile (20 km) route ran south, initially from a temporary terminus in Harcourt Rd., serving the intermediate stations of Dundrum, Stillorgan, Carrickmines and Shankill. The new Harcourt Street station, still extant, opened in 1859, along with a temporary platform at Foxrock.
Further new stations followed; Milltown (1860), Foxrock (1861), Rathmines & Ranelagh (1896), the Rathmines prefix was dropped in 1921. It joined the Westland Row line at Shanganagh Junction continuing to Woodbrook Halt (1910), that served the cricket ground on Sir Stanley Cochrane's estate. The Woodbrook Golf Club later used this halt between 1920 and 1960.
One of the major engineering feats on the line was the Milltown viaduct, or Nine Arches, which still stands today over the River Dodder.
[edit] Legacy
 |
This article or section contains information about a planned or expected public transportation infrastructure. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available. |
 |
The route was preserved after closure, allowing for a potential future reopening. The route corridor remained mostly in-situ until the 2000s. The section between the Grand Canal crossing and the old Stillorgan station was chosen for use by the Luas light rail system whose Green Line opened in 2004. The line crosses Dundrum on the new William Dargan cable-stayed bridge.
An extension of the Luas to Cherrywood is planned for completion by 2010, using some of the old railway alignment.[2][3][4]. The planned route leaves the old alignment after Sandyford Depot to Central Park stop, crosses the M50 and runs down Ballyogan Rd. with stops at Glencairn, The Gallops, Leopardstown Valley and Ballyogan Wood. It then crosses the M50 again, re-joining the original alignment at Racecourse stop, west of Glenamuck Rd. Continuing along the alignment it passes by the original Carrickmines station to Carrickmines stop and Brennanstown stop. The Carrickmines stop will incorporate Park and Ride facilities, both it and Brennanstown will be accessed by new roads from the M50 side. Beyond Brennanstown the route crosses open countryside, diverging slightly from, but paralleling the old alignment to Laughanstown stop, Cherrywood stop and ending at Bride’s Glen stop, adjacent to Dell.
The final extension to Fassaroe[5][6] will continue on the old alignment to Loughlinstown, just 1mile (1.5 km) short of the old Shanganagh Junction, before finally leaving the old route by turning south and paralleling the M11.
[edit] Visible remains
Several bridges, stations and much of the alignment have survived. These include the Harcourt Street Station, Dundrum, Stillorgan, Carrickmines and Shankill stations, Woodbrook Halt, the Nine Arches and Bride's Glen bridges. No trace of Foxrock station appears to remain, other than the original passenger entrance to Leopardstown Racecourse beside the golf club main gates.
 Bride's glen viaduct |
 Carrickmines station, now a private residence. The passenger access ramp, waiting room & the modern extension to the rear have since been demolished as part of the LUAS works. |
 Stillorgan station, now a private residence |
 The Nine Arches viaduct |
 Dundrum Railway Station, now in ruins |
 The new Sandyford Luas depot on the left & the old Stillorgan station house, now a private residence, on the right. The line ran through the centre of the picture |
 Shankill station, to rear of modern office addition |
[edit] Trivia
- Mile posts on the Dublin - Wexford railway line, south of the old Shanganagh Junction, are still measured from Harcourt Street.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.harcourtstreettraincrash.com/
- ^ Sandyford to Cherrywood, Line B1 info
- ^ Line B1 simple maps
- ^ Line B1 Railway Order, Environmental Impact Statement & detailed maps
- ^ Line B2 info
- ^ Line B2 simple map & branch line options
- Johnson, Stephen (1997). Johnson's Atlas and Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland. Midland Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85780-044-3.
- Mac Aongusa, Brian (2003). The Harcourt Street Line - Back on Track. Curragh Press. ISBN 1-85607-907-4.[1]
