Cork and Muskerry Light Railway

Cork and Muskerry Light Railway
Technical
Track gauge	914 mm (3 ft)
CMLR Route Map Legend Cork Western Road Gaol (request) Victoria Cross Carrigrohane Healy's Bridge Coachford Junction Cloghroe Gurteen Dripsey Kilmurry Peake Coachford Tower Bridge St. Anne's Blarney Burnt Mill Gurth Fox's Bridge Knockane Firmount Donoughmore

The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway was a 3 ft (914 mm) 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.

Initial route[]

The railway operated from its own station. the Cork Western Road railway station, in Cork city. The initial lines westwards from Cork to Blarney and Coachford opened in 1887 and 1888 respectively. The railway was built close to the south bank of the River Lee as far as a station at Coachford Junction, 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) west of Cork. From Coachford Junction the branch to the Blarney line terminus station was 2 miles (3 km), and the line to the terminus station at Coachford was 9 miles (14 km).

Throughout the railway's existence, the line was equipped with nine steam locomotives.

The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company was later to share railways' line out of Cork city.^[1]

Donoughmore extension[]

An 8½ mile long extension was built north-westerly from St Annes (on the Blarney branch) to Donoughmore. The line was opened in 1893. It was legally a separate company (the Donoughmore Extension Light Railway Company, incorporated in 1889) but worked as a part of the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway.

Final years[]

The line was comparatively unaffected by World War I, but experienced serious damage during the Irish Civil War of 1922–23. The destruction of a bridge over the River Lee seriously undermined the railway's viability; the railway was repaired and incorporated into the Great Southern Railways in 1925.

Road competition started to seriously affect the railway in the 1920s. The railway closed on 29 December 1934.

Rolling stock[]

Locomotives[]

CMLR No. 8 Peake

The original three locomotives nos. 1–3 City of Cork, Coachford and St. Annes were originally supplied in a 2-4-0T configuration in 1887 by Falcon Engine & Car Works and were converted to 4-4-0T later.^[2] No. 4, the first to be call Blarney, was a small 4-2-0WT from Kitson and Company which was scrapped in 1911.^[3] Traffic needs dictated the ordering of two further locomotives, Nos. 5 and 6, 'Donoughmore and The Muskerry, 0-4-4T types from a Thomas Green & Company of Leeds & London. On closure of the CMLR these passed to the Schull and Skibbereen Railway and Tralee and Dingle Light Railway respectively.^[4] Two more 4-4-0T engines, Nos. 7 and 8, Peake and Dripsey were from Brush Electrical Engineering Company, Falcon's successor were ordered in the later 1890s and 1905 respectively and were broadly similar to earlier ones from the same manufacturer.^[5] The CMLR's final locomotive, No. 9, also named Blarney, a Hunslet Engine Company 4-4-0T, was ordered in 1911 but only delivered in 1919 due to the war, and then scrapped in 1927.^[5]

Carriages and wagons[]

The CMLR main fleet consisted of just over twenty bogie passengers vehicles of c. 30 feet (9 m) length seating of the order of 36 to 40 persons in a mixture of first and third classes.^[6]

See also[]

• Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway
• Cork City Railways
• List of narrow gauge railways in Ireland

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cork and Muskerry Light Railway.

Notes[]

Sources[]

Coordinates: 51°53′46″N 8°29′01″W / 51.8961°N 8.4836°W / 51.8961; -8.4836