List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland

There are a small number of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland, reflecting Ireland's long history of rail transport. Some former operations have closed, and aspirant operations may have museums and even rolling stock, but no operating track.

Heritage railways[]

Some of the main preserved or restored railways include:

• Stradbally Woodland Railway, County Laois
• Cavan and Leitrim Railway, County Leitrim
• Fintown Railway, based in Fintown, which runs along the length of Lough Finn to Glenties Line for about a mile
• Listowel and Ballybunion Railway, a section of the Lartigue Monorail system, has been restored for visitors in Listowel
• Waterford and Suir Valley Railway, running a narrow gauge railway for 10 km (6.2 mi) from Kilmeaden Station along the former mainline route from Waterford to Mallow. It operates alongside the Waterford Greenway and is Ireland's longest heritage line.^{[citation needed]}
• West Clare Railway, beginning in Ennis

while former operations included:

• Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway in County Offaly, run by Bord na Móna, near Shannonbridge, closed 2008
• Tralee and Dingle Light Railway, between Tralee and Dingle, not in operation since 2013

and aspirant operations, with plans for operating track, include:

• Connemara Railway, based at Maam Cross, County Galway, operating a temporary narrow gauge railway^[1]
• County Donegal Railways Joint Committee, commemorated by the Donegal Railway Centre in County Donegal, which once had two narrow gauge railway systems
• Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, the last surviving independently operated railway in the Republic of Ireland (1879-1959)^{[citation needed]}

Preservation groups[]

Preservation groups in Ireland include:

• Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, based in Whitehead, County Antrim in Northern Ireland, runs railtours on the Dublin-Rosslare railway line with "Sea-Breeze" trains, along with Santa specials between Dublin and Maynooth in December. Some restoration work is carried out in the Dublin area and at Mullingar.
• Irish Traction Group, based in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, has a diesel locomotive collection at the site by the Limerick–Waterford railway route. ITG also run regular railtours around the country, sometimes with older (but still in regular use), Iarnród Éireann locomotives and rolling stock.
• Irish Steam Preservation Society, based in Stradbally, County Laois. Operates the Stradbally Woodland Railway with vintage steam and diesel locomotives.

See also[]

• Conservation in the Republic of Ireland
• List of heritage railways
• List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland
• List of narrow gauge railways in Ireland

References[]