The Schull and Skibbereen Railway (also known as the Schull and Skibbereen Tramway and Light Railway) was a minor
narrow gauge railway in
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...
,
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 ...
. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1947. The track gauge was a
narrow gauge
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 structu ...
. The formal name of the company was ''The West Carberry Tramways and Light Railways Company Ltd''.
Route
The S&S's main line was 15 ½ miles long. It was one of several in Ireland built under the terms of the Tramways Act 1883. It largely ran alongside roads, although a large 12-arched masonry viaduct was built over an inlet of Roaringwater Bay, and at times using gradients at steep as 1:30.
The line linked the small harbour and village at
Schull
Schull or Skull ( ; or ''Scoil Mhuire'', meaning "Mary's School") is a town in County Cork, Ireland.
Located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the municipal district of West Cork, the town is dominated by Mount Gabriel (407 m). It has ...
''(in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
: Scoil Mhuire)'' with the town of
Skibbereen
Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour". The River Ilen runs through the town; it reac ...
''(An Sciobairín)''. The only sizeable intermediate village was
Ballydehob
Ballydehob () is a coastal village in the southwest of County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the R592 regional road, at a junction with the N71 national secondary road.
History
During the Bronze Age (2200-600 B.C.), copper was mined on Mou ...
''(Béal Átha an dá Chab)'', although the station was located inconveniently far from the village. The line was single track, with a passing place at Ballydehob station. Other halts were built at Newcourt, Church Cross, Hollyhill, Kilcoe and Woodlands (of which only Hollyhill had a station building).
The station at Skibbereen was built on a cramped site adjacent to that of 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 Sout ...
. The S&S trains had to reverse out of the station into a headshunt, before proceeding towards Schull. (A similar reversing operation is still required at
Killarney railway station
Killarney railway station is a station on the Mallow to Tralee line serving the town of Killarney in County Kerry.
It is situated next to the bus station and Killarney Outlet Centre. Adjacent to the station on the approach road is the Great S ...
on
Iarnród Éireann's line from
Mallow to
Tralee
Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...
).
Early years
Construction was begun in 1885 and soon proved to be substandard. The Inspector of Railways refused to allow the line to be opened for public service in August 1886. Following some remedial work and a subsequent inspection, the line opened in September with a restricted speed limit of only 15 miles per hour. In October the service had to be suspended for 10 days owing to problems with both the track and the locomotives. Services had to again be suspended in April 1887, with local ratepayers having to subsidise the company. The Inspector of Railways gave a highly critical report of the line's standards of operation.
Following further losses, in 1892 the Grand Jury of County Cork appointed a committee of management to run the line. In 1893 a short extension to Schull Pier was built, qualifying for a grant as it was an existing railway, the justification being fish traffic.
Ownership by the GSR and CIÉ
In 1925 the company was incorporated into the new
Great Southern Railways. Owing to a shortage of coal during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(known as
The Emergency in neutral Ireland), services had to be suspended between April 1944 and December 1945. In 1945 the GSR was incorporated into
Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). A further shortage of coal resulted in a renewed suspension of services on 27 January 1947. The line never reopened; CIÉ formally abandoned the railway in September 1952.
Rolling stock
The line was operated by steam locomotives throughout its existence:
*
SSLR 1 to 3 – Dick, Kerr 0-4-0T tramway locomotives of 1886 named Marion, Ida and Ilen.
*
SSLR 4 – Nasmyth, Wilson & Co. 4–4–0T of 1888.
*
SSLR 1 and 3 – Peckett and Sons 4–4–0T of 1906, and 1914.
*
GSR 6S – ex CMLR 6.
Services
The standard train service, journey time 80 minutes, were two mixed trains a day. morning and evening, except Sunday were there was one, supplemented by additional trains on fair days.
See also
*
List of narrow gauge railways in Ireland
Ireland formerly had numerous narrow-gauge railways, most of which were built to a gauge of . The last (non-preserved) line to close was the West Clare Railway in 1961 (though it has been partially preserved).
gauge railways
Dublin and Luca ...
*
West Cork
West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...
Other narrow gauge railways in Co. Cork
*
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 ...
*
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.
...
References
Notes
Footnotes
Sources
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Further reading
*
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External links
Parliamentary question (in Dáil Éireann), 25 April 1944
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schull And Skibbereen Railway
History of County Cork
Transport in County Cork
3 ft gauge railways in Ireland
Skibbereen
Railway companies established in 1883
Railway companies disestablished in 1925