West Clare Railway

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The West Clare Railway (WCR) operated in County Clare, Ireland between 1887 and 1961. This 914 mm (3 ft) gauge narrow gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush and Kilkee (the routes diverging at Moyasta Junction). The system was the last operating narrow gauge passenger system in Ireland and connected with the mainline rail system at Ennis, where a station still stands today for bus and train services to Limerick. Intermediate stops included Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown Malbay.

1 Construction
- 1.1 West Clare Railway
- 1.2 South Clare Railway
2 Nationalisation
3 Dieselisation and closure
4 Preservation
5 See also
- 5.1 Other narrow gauge railways in South West Ireland
6 External links

[edit] Construction

The West Clare Railway and the South Clare Railway were built by separate companies, but in practice the West Clare Railway operated the entire line. The lines met at Miltown Malbay. In due course the entire line became known as the West Clare Railway.

[edit] West Clare Railway

The 43.4 km (27 mi) West Clare Railway between Ennis and Miltown Malbay was built a few years' earlier than the South Clare Railway. The first sod was cut on 26th January 1885 at Miltown Malbay by Charles Stewart Parnell, M.P., although actual work on the line had begun in November 1884. The line was opened on 2 July 1887.

[edit] South Clare Railway

The South Clare Railway built the extension from Miltown Malbay to Kilkee with a branch to Kilrush and Cappagh Pier from Moyasta, with work starting on the extension in October 1890 and opening on 11 May 1892. The extension was worked by the West Clare Railway and was initially dogged by poor service and time keeping, but this later improved.

The West Clare Railway was the topic of Percy French's song written in 1902, "Are Ye Right There Michael, are ye right?", deriding the poor time keeping and poor track quality of the time. Though amusing, some complained that this jesting nevertheless did little to further the cause for keeping the line open.

[edit] Nationalisation

In 1945 the railway was taken over by Córas Iompair Éireann. In the same year, a survey of local businesses was conducted with a view to the possible replacement of the railway by road services. Local campaigners urged that the railway be converted to the Irish standard gauge of 1600mm, but CIÉ rejected this on cost grounds.

[edit] Dieselisation and closure

In the early 1950s, under CIÉ management, the West Clare Railway became a pioneer in the use of diesel traction. Passenger services were largely operated by four new articulated diesel railcars, built by Walker Brothers of Wigan, England (almost identical to units built for the County Donegal Railways). These were followed by three diesel locomotives (also built by Walkers). The use of diesel traction reduced operating costs, yet the investment in new rolling stock would largely be wasted by the early closure of the line.

Despite the dieselisation of passenger services in 1952 and freight in 1953 the system was still closed. On 27 September 1960, CIÉ gave notice of its intending closure with effect from 1 February 1961. CIÉ said that the West Clare was losing £23,000 (€1.2M 2006 equivalent) per year, despite the considerable traffic handled. In December it was announced that the line would close completely on 1 January 1961. Eventually the line closed on 31 January 1961 with CIÉ starting work on dismantling the line the day after closure on 1 February 1961.

By the time of its closure the West Clare Railway was the last narrow gauge railway in Ireland offering a passenger service; various lines operated operated by Bord na Mona continue to operate in connection with the peat industry.

[edit] Preservation

Efforts were made by a preservation society to recreate part of the original route. This group succeeded in acquiring Moyasta station, and 5 km (3 miles) of track bed.