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Rail Gauge In Ireland
The track gauge adopted by the mainline railways in Ireland is . This unusually broad track gauge is otherwise found only in Australia (where it was introduced by the Irish railway engineer F. W. Sheilds), in the states of Victoria, southern New South Wales (via some extensions of the Victorian rail network) and South Australia, as well as in Brazil. The Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway used this gauge between 1840 and 1855, as did the Canterbury Provincial Railways in New Zealand, until conversion to the gauge in the 1860s. The Launceston and Western Railway in Tasmania also used this gauge from 1871, until conversion to gauge in 1888. Different gauges Ireland's first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown, was built to (later known as standard gauge). The Ulster Railway (UR), taking the Irish Railway Commission's advice, used . The Dublin and Drogheda Railway was proposed to be built to gauge on the grounds of lower costs. The two broader gauges were not used anywhere e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the List of islands of the British Isles, second-largest island of the British Isles, the List of European islands by area, third-largest in Europe, and the List of islands by area, twentieth-largest on Earth. Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2022, the Irish population analysis, population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the List of European islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Railway
The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). History The Ulster Railway was authorised by an Act of the UK Parliament in 1836 and construction began in March 1837. The first of line, between and , were completed in August 1839 at a cost of £107,000. The line was extended in stages, opening to in 1841,Hajducki, 1974, map 9 in 1842,Hajducki, 1974, map 8 and in 1848. In 1836 a Railway Commission recommended that railways in Ireland be built to broad gauge. The Ulster Railway complied with this recommendation but the Dublin and Drogheda Railway (D&D) did not. In order for Dublin and Belfast to be linked without a break-of-gauge, in 1846 the UK Parliament passed an Act adopting a compromise gauge of for Ireland, to which the Ulster Railway's track was then re-laid. Extension of the Ulster Railway resumed, reachi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Rail Transport In Ireland
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. Railways on the island of Ireland are run by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) within Ireland and Northern Ireland Railways within Northern Ireland. The two companies jointly operate the island's only cross-border service, the Enterprise, between Dublin and Belfast. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland based in Whitehead, County Antrim runs preserved steam trains on the main line, with the Irish Traction Group preserving diesel locomotives, and operating on the main line. The Downpatrick & County Down Railway is the only self-contained full-size heritage railway in the island of Ireland. Transport before railways Transport on a country-wide scale began in 1710 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come from the Upper River Bann and River Blackwater, and its main outflow is the Lower River Bann. Its name comes from Irish , meaning " Eachaidh's lake".Deirdre Flanagan and Laurance Flanagan, Irish Placenames, (Gill & Macmillan Ltd, 1994) The lough is owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury and managed by Lough Neagh Partnership Ltd. Geography With an area of , it is the British Isles' largest lake by area and is ranked 33rd in the list of largest lakes of Europe. Located west of Belfast, it is about long and wide. It is very shallow around the margins and the average depth in the main body of the lake is about , although at its deepest the lough is about deep. Geology Geologically the Lough Neagh Basin is a depression, built from many tecto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bord Na Móna
Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland communities and achieve security of energy supply for the recently formed Irish Republic. The development of peatlands involved the mechanised harvesting of peat, which took place primarily in the Midlands of Ireland. Over the years, Bord na Móna has expanded and diversified its portfolio of businesses to include biomass procurement and supply, power generation (peat based and renewable), waste recovery, domestic fuel products and professional and consumer horticulture products. In 2015, the company announced that the harvesting of peat for power generation is to be "phased out" by 2030, at which point the company would complete its transition to new sustainable businesses located across its bogs and landholding. The new sustainable busi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heritage Railways In Northern Ireland
There are a number of heritage railways in Northern Ireland, reflecting Ireland's long railway history. Some of the primary sites include: *The Downpatrick & Co Down Railway in County Down is located on part of the former Belfast & County Down Railway. Two and a half miles track has been relaid to Inch Abbey on the old route to Belfast, and a further one mile laid along the old route to Newcastle. It operates with preserved steam and diesel locomotives and vintage wooden carriages. *The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland headquarters, in Whitehead, County Antrim. A large selection of steam locomotives and preserved rolling stock can be seen. Although there is not an actual heritage railway in Whitehead, there is a museum, and there are regular railtours with the preserved stock running to various destinations in Ireland. *The Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway on the north coast in County Antrim. Steam-powered services run from the Giant's Causeway to Bushmills. Laid o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heritage Railways In The Republic Of Ireland
There are a small number of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland, reflecting Ireland's long history of rail transport. Some former operations have closed, and aspirant operations may have museums and even rolling stock, but no operating track. Heritage railways Some of the main preserved or restored railways include: * Stradbally Woodland Railway, County Laois * Cavan and Leitrim Railway, County Leitrim * Fintown Railway, based in Fintown, which runs along the length of Lough Finn to Glenties Line for about a mile * Listowel and Ballybunion Railway, a section of the Lartigue Monorail system, has been restored for visitors in Listowel * Waterford and Suir Valley Railway, running a narrow gauge railway for from Kilmeaden Station along the former mainline route from Waterford to Mallow. It operates alongside the Waterford Greenway and is Ireland's longest heritage line. * West Clare Railway, beginning in Ennis while former operations included: * Clonmacnoise and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee. History of the Donegal Railways On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. The lines inherited by the Joint Committee totalled and were: * Finn Valley Railway (FVR) from Strabane to Stranorlar * West Donegal Railway line from Stranorlar to Donegal * The Donegal Railway Company lines between Stranorlar and Glenties, Donegal Town to Killybegs, Strabane to Derry, and Donegal Town to Ballyshannon The Joint Committee opened the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway on 1 January 1909, bringing the total mileage to . By 1912 the company owned the following assets: * Locomotives and rolling stock: 21 lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Foot Gauge Railways
Three foot gauge railways have a track gauge of or 1 yard. This gauge is a narrow gauge and is generally found throughout North, Central, and South America. In Ireland, many secondary and industrial lines were built to gauge, and it is the dominant gauge on the Isle of Man, where it is known as the '' Manx Standard Gauge''. Modern gauge railways are most commonly found in isolated mountainous areas, on small islands, or in large-scale amusement parks and theme parks (see table below). This gauge is also popular in model railroading (particularly in G scale), and model prototypes of these railways have been made by several model train brands around the world, such as Accucraft Trains (US), Aristo-Craft Trains (US), Bachmann Industries (Hong Kong), Delton Locomotive Works (US), LGB (Germany), and PIKO (Germany). Railways See also *Heritage railway * Large amusement railways *List of track gauges This list presents an overview of railway track gauges by size. A ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luas
Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lines have been extended and split into different branches further out of the city. The two lines, as of 2017, now intersect and connect within Dublin city centre. The system now has 67 stations and of revenue track, which in 2018 carried 41.8 million passengers, an increase of 11.2% compared to 2017. Luas is operated by Transdev, under tender from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). (Prior to the later RPA merger with the National Roads Authority to form TII, the tender was originally under the defunct Railway Procurement Agency jurisdiction). The Luas was a major part of the National Transport Authority's strategy (2000–2016). Four extensions to the existing Luas lines have been completed. Construction of a extension to the Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dublin And Blessington Steam Tramway
The Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (DBST), later the Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway, operated steam-powered trams between Terenure in Dublin and Blessington in Co. Wicklow from 1888 until 1932. History On Wednesday, August 1, 1888, the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (the DBST) opened for business. The first train was the 8:35 a.m. mail train leaving Terenure for Blessington. The tramway used the Irish standard gauge of . The tramway connected with the horse-drawn trams from the city. An extension of the line to Poulaphouca was opened in 1895, and the Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway was incorporated, with through-running from Terenure from 1896 until the extension was closed in 1927. In 1911, a major proposal was put forward for the electrification of the line as far as Crooksling, but the intervention of World War I meant that this was never put into effect. In 1929, the Paragon Omnibus Company began operating a through bus service between Bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hill Of Howth Tramway
The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a tram which served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The termini were at Sutton railway station, Dublin, Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and Howth railway station by the village and harbour of Howth. Design The line of the route was designed in-house by the Great Northern Rail staff at their Dublin office, under William Hemingway Mills, chief engineer. The engineer responsible for the detailed design was Joshua Harrison Hargrave, the famous Cork-born photographer/engineer. History The service operated from June 1901 to 31 May 1959 and was run by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I)), which viewed it as a way to bring more customers to its railway stations at Sutton, Dublin, Sutton and Howth. The tramway replaced a horse bus service, which had run since 1867. Closure and replacement On 1 October 1958, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) took over GNR(I)'s operations in the Republic of Ireland, includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
