The Great Southern Railways Company (often Great Southern Railways, or GSR) was an Irish company that from 1925 until 1945 owned and operated all railways that lay wholly within the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

(the present-day

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

). The period was difficult with rising operating costs and static to failing income. The early part of the period was soon after infrastructure losses of the Irish Civil War. The Emergency or

Second World War 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 opposi ...

at the end of the period saw shortages of coal and raw materials with increased freight traffic and restricted passenger traffic.

History

Context

Civil unrest in Ireland had led to the assumption of governmental control of all railways operating in Island of Ireland on 22 December 1916 through the Irish Railways Executive Committee, later succeeded by the Ministry of Transport. Control was returned to the management of the companies on 15 August 1921. The

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

of December 1921 establishing the

and subsequent Irish Civil War all combined to be damaging to the railways of Ireland widespread and extensive damage to infrastructure and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...

. Between 1916 and 1921 revenues had doubled while operating costs and wages had quadrupled. When the GS&WR, by far the largest of the companies, announced it would cease operations on 8 January 1923. The Irish Free state had already recognised the importance of the railway system and had set up the Railway Commission to advise on ownership in April 1922. The impending collapse led to the process that was to create the GSR.{{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=11, 13

Formation

Provision for the creation of the company was made by the Railways Act 1924, which mandated the amalgamation (in the case of the four major railway companies) and absorption (of the 22 smaller companies) of all railways wholly within the

. Only cross-border railways, most notably the Great Northern Railway (GNR), remained outside its control.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=13–14

First amalgamation

The Great Southern and Western Railway Company, the Midland Great Western Railway Company of Ireland and the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway Company agreed to terms for amalgamation, forming the Great Southern Railway Company by way of the Railways (Great Southern) Preliminary Amalgamation Scheme of 12 November 1924 (SI no. 31 of that year).{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=13–15

DSER joins

The Great Southern Railways Company was formed when the fourth major company, the

Dublin and South Eastern Railway The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911. It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland oper ...

(DSER), joined these companies under the Great Southern Railways Amalgamation Scheme of 1 January 1925 (SI no. 1 of that year) and the Great Southern Railways Supplemental Amalgamation Scheme, also 1925. The DSER was substantially British owned and had wished to merge with the GNR but was overruled.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=13–15

Smaller Companies

The smaller companies were absorbed under several successive

statutory instrument In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation. United Kingdom Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom. National government Statutory instrumen ...

s.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=13–15 {, class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" , + style="text-align: left;" , {{nowrap, List of companies amalgamated to form Great Southern Railway/Great Southern Railways , - !align="left", Company{{cite web, url=http://www.cie.ie/about_us/schools_and_enthusiasts.asp#4, url-status=dead, publisher=Córas Iompair Éireann, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410164204/http://www.cie.ie/about_us/schools_and_enthusiasts.asp#4, title=LIST OF RAILWAY COMPANIES WHICH WERE ABSORBED WITH THE GREAT SOUTHERN RAILWAYS IN 1925, archive-date=10 April 2013 !align="left", Operator !align="left", Gauge !align="left", Route Miles !align="left", Locomotives{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=350 !align="left", Notes , - , align="left", Argina Colliery Extension Railway , align="left", CLR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 4 , align="left", 0 , align="left", {{cite web, url=http://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/blog/new-railway-line-for-cavan, access-date=15 April 2018, website=RTÉ, title=New railway line for Cavan, archive-date=15 April 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415190247/http://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/blog/new-railway-line-for-cavan, url-status=live , - , align="left", Athy Wolfhill Colliery Railway , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 12 , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left", Athenry and Tuam Extension Railway , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 17 , align="left", 0 , align="left", {{cite web, url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Athenry_and_Tuam_Extension_to_Claremorris_Railway, access-date=14 April 2018, website=Grace's Guide to British Industrial History, title=Athenry and Tuam Extension to Claremorris Railway, archive-date=15 April 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415063622/https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Athenry_and_Tuam_Extension_to_Claremorris_Railway, url-status=live , - , align="left", Bantry Extension Railway (CBSCR) , align="left", CBSCR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 11 , align="left", 0 , align="left", Operated by Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway , - , align="left", Ballinrobe and Claremorris Light Railway , align="left", MGWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 12 , align="left", 0 , align="left", Nominally 12 miles , - , align="left", Baltimore Extension Railway , align="left", CBSCR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 8 , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left", Castlecomer Railway , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 12 , align="left", 0 , align="left", Nominally 12 miles , - , align="left",

Cavan and 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 ...

(CLR) , align="left", CLR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 59 , align="left", 9 , align="left", , - , align="left", Clonakilty Extension Railway , align="left", CBSCR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 9 , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left", Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway (CBSCR) , align="left", CBSCR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 94 , align="left", 20 , align="left", , - , align="left",

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 ...

(CPBR) , align="left", CBPR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 16 , align="left", 4 , align="left", , - , align="left", Cork and Macroom Direct Railway (CMDR) , align="left", CMDR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 24 , align="left", 5 , align="left", CMDR tried to avoid joining GSR by physical independence{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=174 , - , align="left",

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. ...

(CMLR) , align="left", CMLR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 11 , align="left", 7 , align="left", , - , align="left", Cork City Railways , align="left", , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 1 , align="left", 0 , align="left", Tramway connecting docks, CBSCR and GSWR, mileage nominal{{cite journal, title=CORK CITY RAILWAYS, journal=Irish Railway Record Society, last=Langford, first=John, issue=166, date=June 2008, url=http://www.irrs.ie/Journal%20165/Journal%20166/166%20Cork%20City%20Railways.htm, url-access=limited, url-status=live, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130044153/http://www.irrs.ie/Journal%20165/Journal%20166/166%20Cork%20City%20Railways.htm, archive-date=30 November 2017 , - , align="left", Donoughmore Extension Light Railway , align="left", CMLR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 8 , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left", Dublin and Kingstown Railway , align="left", DSER , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 6 , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left",

(DSER) , align="left", DSER , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 161 , align="left", 41 , align="left", Route mileage may include closures and operational track , - , align="left", Fishguard & Rosslare Railways & Harbours Company , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 104 , align="left", 0 , align="left", 50% joint GSR/ Great Western Railway , - , align="left", Great Southern and Western Railway (GSWR) , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 1100 , align="left", 326 , align="left", Route mileage may include closures and operational track , - , align="left", Loughrea and Attymon Light Railway , align="left", MGWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 9 , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left", Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) , align="left", MGWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 538 , align="left", 139 , align="left", Route mileage may include closures and operational track , - , align="left", South Clare Railway , align="left", WCR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", , align="left", 0 , align="left", , - , align="left",

Schull and Skibbereen Railway 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, Ireland. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1947. The track gauge was a narrow gauge. The fo ...

(SSR) , align="left", SSR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 15 , align="left", 4 , align="left", Company was ''West Carberry Tramways and Light Railways Co. Ltd.'' , - , align="left", Southern of Ireland Railway , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 28 , align="left", 0 , align="left", {{Sfnp, Casserley, 1974, p=79 , - , align="left",

Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Light Railway The Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Railway was a long light railway connecting Timoleague station and Courtmacsherry station. It was the last roadside railway operating in Ireland. History The railway was incorporated in October 1888 and ope ...

(TCLR) , align="left", TCLR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 9 , align="left", 2 , align="left", , - , align="left", Tralee and Dingle Light Railway (TDLR) , align="left", TDLR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 38 , align="left", 8 , align="left", , - , align="left", Tralee and Fenit Railway , align="left", GSWR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 7 , align="left", 0 , align="left", Mileage nominal , - , align="left", West Clare Railway (WCR) , align="left", WCR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 3 ft, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 27 , align="left", 11 , align="left", , - , align="left",

Waterford and Tramore Railway The Waterford and Tramore Railway (W&TR) was a railway in County Waterford, Ireland, that linked the city of Waterford and the seaside town of Tramore, a distance of . The railway officially opened on 5 September 1853 and opened for normal bu ...

(WTR) , align="left", WTR , align="left", {{RailGauge, 5 ft 3 in, lk=on, allk=on , align="left", 7 , align="left", 4 , align="left",

Omissions and Anomalies

CIÉ previously maintained a full online list of the twenty five companies which constituted the Great Southern Railways in 1925. This is not entirely accurate, as it includes the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways & Harbours Company which still exists today, although GSR took over 50% of its shares upon its creation, the other 50% being held by the UK Great Western Railway. The respective shareholdings in the company, now essentially a

shelf company A shelf corporation, shelf company, or aged corporation is a company or corporation that has had no activity. It was created and left with no activity – metaphorically put on the "shelf" to "age". The company can then be sold to a person or g ...

, are held today by Iarnród Éireann and

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major u ...

.{{citation needed, date=July 2020 Two companies that were not amalgamated but whose tracks the GSR retained operating rights over were the City of Dublin Junction Railway,{{efn, Westland Row to Amiens St. and the New Ross and Waterford Extension.{{Sfnp, Casserley, 1974, p=148

Early years

The GS&WR was the dominant constituent in terms of area, route millage and rolling stock. The GSR's headquarters were established at Kingsbridge and

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchicore railway works ...

becoming the chief engineering works. The former Dublin and South Eastern section in particular had become extremely run down and needed extensive remedial work on its rolling stock with about one third condemned with immediate effect.{{citation needed, date=July 2020 Revenue for passengers decreased from £1.91m in 1925 to £1.28m by 1931, that for freight decreasing from £2.27m to £2.05m.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=17

Buses and hotels

From 1929, when it acquired a stake in the Irish Omnibus Company, the company also ran bus services. These operations became the responsibility, from 1 January 1934, of the Great Southern Railways Omnibus Department. The group owned a number of hotels, and in 1990 the hotel group was transferred from Córas Iompair Éireann to Aer Rianta, in the ownership of which it remained until 2006. The hotel group formed by the company, Great Southern Hotels, continued to bear that name until its privatisation in 2006. Only the Sligo hotel continued to use the Great Southern name as of 2016, but in January 2018 The Malton Hotel in Killarney reverted to its original name of the Great Southern.{{cite news, url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/what-s-in-a-name-great-southern-hotel-returns-to-its-roots-1.3219372, date=13 September 2017, access-date=19 December 2018, first=Joan, last=Scales, newspaper=The Irish Times, title=What's in a name? Great Southern hotel returns to its roots, archive-date=11 November 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111212631/https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/what-s-in-a-name-great-southern-hotel-returns-to-its-roots-1.3219372, url-status=live

1930s

Worldwide economic conditions continued to be difficult and affected Ireland also, passenger and freight revenue decreased to £1.27m and £2.05m by 1939.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=16–17

Second World War

Although the Republic of Ireland was a neutral country railway transport was severely disrupted by The Emergency. Lack of high quality coal fuel in Ireland and the need to import from England was severe and desperate alternatives such as turf-burning had only extremely limited success. By 1944 most non-suburban passenger services were restricted to Mondays and Thursdays only with some curtailed altogether. {{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=19–20

Transfer to CIÉ

Th
Transport Act 1944
dissolved the company and transferred its assets, together with those of the Dublin United Transport Company to Córas Iompair Éireann, from 1 January 1945.

Route network

Over the period of the GSR's existence the total route network was reduced slightly from {{convert, 2181, mi, km in 1925 to {{convert, 2042, mi, km at the end in 1944.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=343 Among the few lines closed in the intervening years were the former Midland Great Western lines from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

to Clifden (in 1935) and from Westport to Achill (in 1937).{{cite news , last=McNally , first=Frank , date=21 August 2013 , title=Great Western Greenway: the long and winding road without a car in sight , url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/great-western-greenway-the-long-and-winding-road-without-a-car-in-sight-1.1499900 , newspaper=

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

, access-date=4 February 2022 The stretch of line that was double track was reduced more significantly, from {{convert, 438, mi, km to {{convert, 276, mi, km in the same period.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=343

Locomotives and rolling stock

Locomotives

A wide variety of locomotives and rolling stock was inherited from the constituent companies. 1925 records show 526 broad and 41 narrow gauge steam locomotives remaining inherited from the originating companies.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=350 Locomotives were renumbered into the GSR class number scheme whereby the lowest numbered engine in the class was used as the class identity. There was a parallel

scheme that used a letter to indicate the axle layout and a number to designate different groups within the class. When the GSR passed into CIÉ at the end of 1944 the total number of broad gauge steam locomotives was about 475 of which 58 had been built by GSR. About 28 narrow gauge steam locomotives remained.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=350

Rolling stock

The total number of passenger vehicles including post office, parcel, and brakes vans was 1670 in 1925, falling to 1337 by 1944.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, p=343

Railcars

The GSR introduced four

Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring gran ...

steam railcars in 1928 with the power unit similar to the GSR Class 280, operating range of over {{convert, 150, miles, km and a passenger capacity for 55. All were withdrawn in the early 1940s. A subsequent order from Claytons in 1928 were less successful and withdrawn in 1932, a model exists in the Fry railway collection. Four Drewry petrol powered railcars of which two were narrow gauge were also introduced around 1927, with all four also being withdrawn by the mid 1940s.{{Sfnp, Clements, McMahon, 2008, pp=298–307, 380 The innovative

Drumm Battery Train The Drumm Battery Train was an Irish battery electric multiple unit developed in the 1930s which ran successfully in service on the Dublin to route. The train's batteries were charged via an overhead pickup at the turnaround station. The tr ...

was successfully operated on the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

— Bray route from 1932.

Senior people

;General Manager * C. E. Riley * W. H. Morton (1932-1942) *

Edgar Craven Bredin Edgar Craven Bredin (16 April 1886 – 5 August 1950) was an Irish mechanical and locomotive engineer and later a railway manager. Bredin was born in Canterbury on 16 April 1886 and educated at Mountjoy School in Dublin. In 1905 he was apprentice ...

(1942—1944) ;Chief Mechanical Engineer/Locomotive Superintendent{{cite web, url=https://www.irishrailwayana.com/pa102.htm, access-date=11 April 2018, website=Irish Railwayana, title=Great Southern Railway(s), archive-date=20 August 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820165040/http://irishrailwayana.com/pa102.htm, url-status=live * J. R. Bazin (1925—1929) * W. H. Morton (1930—1932) * A. W. Harty (1932—1937) *

(1937—1942) * J. M. Ginnetty (1942—1944) * C.F. Tindall (1944)

References

Notes

{{Notelist

Footnotes

{{reflist

Sources

* {{Cite book, last=Casserley, first=H. C., date=1974, title=Outline of Irish Railway History , isbn=0715363778, publisher=David & Charles, location=Newton Abbot & North Pomfret, oclc=249227042, author-link=H. C. Casserley * {{cite book, last1=Clements, first1=Jeremy, last2=McMahon, first2=Michael, date=2008, title=Locomotives of the GSR , isbn=9781906578268, location=Newtownards, publisher=Colourpoint Books, oclc=547074718

External links

* {{PM20, FID=co/048028, TEXT=Documents and clippings about, NAME= {{Commons category, Great Southern Railways Defunct railway companies of Ireland Railway companies established in 1924 Railway companies disestablished in 1945 1924 establishments in Ireland 1945 disestablishments in Ireland