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 ...

formerly had numerous

narrow-gauge railways A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

, most of which were built to a gauge of . The last (non-preserved) line to close was the

West Clare Railway The West Clare Railway (WCR) originally operated in County Clare, Ireland, between 1887 and 1961. This narrow-gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush ...

in 1961 (though it has been partially preserved).

gauge railways

Dublin and Lucan Electric Railway; opened 1900, closed 1925

railways

Northern Ireland

Operating

Foyle Valley Railway The Foyle Valley Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Derry, Northern Ireland. Foyle Valley Railway Museum was initially opened in 1990 on the site of Foyle Road station of the GNR (Ireland). In August 2016, Destined Ltd, a charity ...

Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway The Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway (GC&BR) is a narrow gauge heritage railway operating between the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills on the coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The line is long. History Original line The Gia ...

Defunct

File:Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway.2.jpg, A Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway station. File:Dunluce Castle & Giant's Causeway Tram.jpg, The defunct

Giant's Causeway Tramway The Giant's Causeway Tramway, operated by the Giant's Causeway, Portrush and Bush Valley Railway & Tramway Company Ltd, was a pioneering narrow gauge electric railway operating between Portrush and the Giant's Causeway on the coast of County An ...

near

Dunluce Castle Dunluce Castle (; ) is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland, the seat of Clan MacDonnell. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim (between Portballintrae and Portrush), and is accessible via a bridge conne ...

c. 1890.

Republic of Ireland

Operating

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 c ...

(private) *

Cavan & Leitrim Railway The Cavan & Leitrim Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the counties of Leitrim and Cavan in northwest Ireland, which ran from 1887 until 1959. Unusually for Ireland, this narrow gauge line survived on coal traffic, from the mine at Arigna, ...

Fintown Railway Fintown (officially known by its Irish name, ) is a small village and townland on the banks of Lough Finn in County Donegal, Ireland. It is within the Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking area, in the west of the county. Overlooked by Aghla (589m, 1961& ...

Stradbally Woodland Railway The Stradbally Woodland Railway is a 1 km (0.62 mile) long single-track narrow gauge railway line at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois in Ireland. Location The Stradbally Woodland Railway is located in the fenced-off groun ...

Waterford and Suir Valley Railway The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway (WSVR) is a registered charity operating a gauge railway along approximately 10 km of track from Kilmeadan back towards Waterford, Ireland. The line shares much of its route along the banks of River Suir ...

Defunct

File:WCR Moyasta station.jpg, The ''Slieve Callan'' locomotive stopped at a station on the

. File:Post No Bills.jpg, Passengers riding on the defunct

Galway and Salthill Tramway The Galway and Salthill Tramway Company operated a narrow gauge passenger tramway service in Galway between 1879 and 1918.The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis. History The tramway linked the city of Galway and the seasid ...

c. 1910.

gauge railways

Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company operated a passenger tramway service in Cork between 1898 and 1931. History Origins The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company was a subsidiary of British Thomson-Houston, a major electric ...

; opened 1898, closed 1931

gauge railways

Steam Train Express (located in Emerald Park); opened 2015 (operating)

gauge railways

Northern Ireland

Bellevue Park Railway The Bellevue Park Railway, which closed in 1950, operated in Bellevue, Belfast. History Bellevue Park was a popular recreational facility between the two world wars, providing gardens, ponds, amusements, refreshments, a zoo, and a gauge miniat ...

(located in Bellevue Park); opened 1933, closed 1950 (defunct - park still operating)

Republic of Ireland

Difflin Lake Railway Oakfield Demesne is a house, grounds and townland in County Donegal, Ireland, originally built in 1739 for the Dean of Raphoe. Since 1996 it has been owned by Sir Gerry Robinson and his wife, Lady Heather Robinson. The demesne includes the 1 ...

(located in Oakfield Park); opened 2003 (operating)

Monorails

Listowel and Ballybunion Railway The Lartigue Monorail system was developed by the French engineer Charles Lartigue (1834–1907). He further developed a horse drawn monorail system, which had been invented by Henry Robinson Palmer in 1821. Lartigue had seen camels in Algeri ...

; opened 1888, closed 1924; partially preserved

gauge railways

railways

Northern Ireland

Operating

Defunct

Republic of Ireland

Operating

Defunct

gauge railways

gauge railways

gauge railways

Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Monorails

See also