Talk:History of rail transport in Ireland

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Contents 1 Category:Timeline of rail transport 2 This article 3 Gauges 4 GNR(I) 5 Tralee and Dingle Light Railway 6 Gauge of Dublin tramway

[edit] Category:Timeline of rail transport

A timeline of rail transport series of documents has been created, currently with little content. Please help out (not least since all but 3 "events" are US based). You know the drill: births & deaths, dates of key bits of infrastructure & acts / openings / amalgamations / closures / accidents &c. --Tagishsimon (talk)

The root category is now Cat:Rail transport timelines. Slambo (Speak) 18:44, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This article

I am starting to rewrite parts of this article, since it leaves out many of the main railway lines operating in Ireland at the time specified. I am using the Railway Year Book for 1912 as my guide. I also feel that the paragraph discussing the overall picture of transport prior to the railways is a far too sketchy:

• canal transport had made big inroads in the carrying of freight long before the railways: two big canal projects were underway in the late 18th century
• mail coaches run by the General Post Office and others far preceded (by well over 100 years!) those "horse-car" services of Charles Bianconi (who himself was only one of many, and operated mostly in the south)
• I don't believe that the Irish hoi poloi were sedentary (= doing things sitting down): they worked liked mad in agriculture. The roads created by the mail coaches had already got people travelling between centres of population
• the article itself says that the Dublin and Kingstown railway was opened in 1834, so what's this about the Waterford line?
• all railways are "held up by legislation" - you can't open one without an Act of Parliament

Peter Shearan 09:55, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

• My first addition is to summarise the railways as at the beginning of the 19th century: there were many more than is shown at present. I shall (eventually) put the paragraph on the first railway before that list. I think that, since the information I have on each of the main lines is fairly extensive (ie listing most of the constituents of each one) it will be better to then write an article for every one of the main lines, thus avoiding turning this article into too much of a jumbo!

Please be patient!!! Peter Shearan 11:00, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

• List of all railways now completed. A separate (brief) chapter is now needed for each of the main railways, even if they do not have a separate article, like the existing ones

Peter Shearan 06:27, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Gauges

Else where is says that the Dublin and Drogheda Railway used 5 ft. 2 in. not 5 ft. 3 in !

Please explain!

Tabletop 23:58, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Yes, the D&DR was initially laid using a track gauge of 5 ft 2 in. Have amended the article. -- Picapica 12:39, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] GNR(I)

Great Northern of Ireland Railway

Ought this not to be Great Northern Railway of Ireland? -- Picapica 12:11, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

I have checked a extensive list of railway companies of Ireland and cannot find this abbreviation, assume that it is a abbreviation with a foreign twist "Great Northern Railway (Ireland)", for instance [1]. Djegan 18:34, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

Djegan, a chara:

It appears my message was excessively cryptic! It was not the abbreviation GNR(I) I was wanting to call attention to. I'd thought that that was too well known to need any elaboration (no "foreign twists" involved!). Have a look at these images: [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]

No, it was about this Great Northern of Ireland Railway (sic) mentioned in the article. The doubt I was attempting to cast was on the very existence of any railway thus called. The references in the article actually relate to the Great Northern Railway (Ireland), established by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Act of 1877 -- hence the abbreviation GNR(I). There was never, to my knowledge, any railway called the "Great Northern of Ireland". -- Picapica 22:50, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

See further discussion of this matter at User_talk:Picapica. I propose to make relevant changes to "Great Northern of Ireland Railway" references shortly. -- Picapica 20:42, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

This article is hardly impartial, to quote - "The population of Donegal is expanding rapidly and deserves to have a rail service"

[edit] Tralee and Dingle Light Railway

There is a discrepancy in the lines distance on this page (37.5 miles) and the main Tralee and Dingle Light Railway page (31 miles). Does anyone have the correct distance? ww2censor 16:57, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gauge of Dublin tramway

Does anybody know wether the Dublin tramway (Luas) has the broad gauge og Irish railways (1600 mm) or normal gauge (1435 mm). I was there and saw it but opposite to what I had expected I didn't think it looked broader than normal gauge. 85.8.0.197 21:56, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

The original Dublin tram (DUTC) was 5-ft 3-in (1600-mm), same as Irish railway, the Luas is 4-ft 8.5-in (1435-mm) The reason for using standard gauge for the Luas was, supposedly, to enable the purchase of "off the shelf" i.e. cheaper rolling stock. Suckindiesel 23:22, 27 March 2007 (UTC)