The Cork City Railways were constructed in 1911 and opened in 1912 to connect the Irish standard gauge systems north and south of the

River Lee The River Lee (Irish: ''An Laoi'') is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

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 (Grea ...

., In the 19th century Cork city had a population of the order of 80,000 and was served by up to five operating companies, mostly to separate stations around the city.

Street Railways

Cork City Railway - Albert Quay - geograph

As well as street railways and tramways in the central area of Cork city, the

Cork and Muskerry Light Railway The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The first part of the railway opened in 1887 and closed in 1934. A major reason for building the railway was to exploit tourist traffic to Blarney Castle. ...

also had street lines running through the western suburbs, later shared with trams.

Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company

The Cork trams started in 1898 and ran until 1931. The gauge of was designed to be compatible with that of the

so it could operate over some of the light railways route. The tram network also linked to the

Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway The Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway known locally to the locals aThe Black Bridge(CB&PR) was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The line originally opened in 1850 as a Irish standard gauge railway between Cork and Passage West ...

the gauge of which was reduced from to at this time for compatibility.

Cork City Railways

The Cork City Railways were constructed in 1911 and opened in 1912 to connect the Irish standard gauge systems north and south of the

. Half the finance of £150,000 for the Company was put forward by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

(GWR) company of the United Kingdom who had previously invested in the

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two pa ...

, Rosslare and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

route. Three of the four company directors were also from the GWR.The company owned no locomotives and the system was operated by other railway companies. There were two lines, the first starting west from Glanmire Road station before curving to cross the two channels of the River Lee, and the electric tramway, to pass by

Cork Albert Quay railway station Cork Albert Quay railway station was on the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway in County Cork, Ireland. History The station opened on 8 December 1851 with services to Bandon, County Cork. From 1866 to 1879 and 1925 to 1935 it was also the ...

and join the

Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR), was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It opened in 1849 as the Cork and Bandon Railway (C&BR), changed its name to Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway in 1888 and became part of the Great South ...

(CBSCR) immediately thereafter. This line had various branches to docks. This line may briefly have had a scheduled passenger service in the summer of 1914. The second line ran from the CBSCR goods yard to Victoria Quays. Usage of the Cork City Railways lines reduced with the closure of the old CBSCR route in 1961; however, freight movements to Albert and Victoria Quays continued until 1976, leaving only a few tracks close to Glanmire Road.

Train operating companies in Cork City

Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway

The

did not start from Cork. Instead, in 1849, they opened the first section between and in December 1849. After financial problems, they reached two years later, after completion of the Ballinhassig tunnel and the

Chetwynd Viaduct Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CB&SCR), was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It opened in 1849 as the Cork and Bandon Railway (C&BR), changed its name to Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway in 1888 and became part of the Great Sout ...

. As the company extended, it was possible to travel the mainline to , and branches to , and , and by narrow-gauge from to . The first major closure was the branch line to Kinsale, which closed in 1931. The remaining majority of the system closed in March 1961, with the track lifted from March 1962 onwards.

Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway

opened in 1873, replacing the earlier 1850 Victoria Road terminus at City Park. The station served the line to

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork city. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets. Passage West was ...

, with later extensions to and . The line was originally 5 ft 3in gauge but was converted to 3 ft gauge in 1898. It closed in 1932.

Cork and Macroom Direct Railway

, opened 30.09.1879, closed 02.03.1925, was the terminus for the

Cork and Macroom Direct Railway The Cork and Macroom Direct Railway (CMDR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland which ran the from Cork to Macroom. History It was incorporated in 1861 and was chaired by Sir John Arnott and Joseph Ronayne. The engineer for the scheme w ...

. It was situated close to the CBSC and CBP stations.

Cork and Muskerry Light Railway

The

had its terminus towards the west of the city centre, near the banks of the

. From Western Road, it was possible to travel from Cork to the region of

Muskerry Muskerry ( ga, Múscraí) is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry WestCork Glanmire Road for through workings.

Great Southern and Western Railway

Cork Penrose Quay was the original station, which was replaced by Cork Glanmire Road on amalgamation with the Cork and Youghal Railway. The Glanmire Road station is the only station that remains open for passenger or freight traffic, and is still connected to the main Cork-Dublin line via the mid-19th century

Kilnap Viaduct The Kilnap Viaduct is an eight-arch railway viaduct located in Cork City, Ireland. Built in 1845, it carried the Great Southern & Western Railway line to Cork over the valley of Glennamought River and Mallow Road. The viaduct is listed as a prot ...

and associated tunnel. On the 50th anniversary of the Easter Uprising, Glanmire Road station was renamed Cork Kent Station after

Thomas Kent Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cork City Railways Closed railways in Ireland