Dublin and South Eastern Railway
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Bray | |
Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Westland Row station |
Dates of operation | 10 July 1854–31 December 1924 |
Predecessor | Dublin and Kingstown Railway Dalkey Atmospheric Railway |
Successor | Great Southern Railways |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) |
Length | 156 miles 1 chain (251.1 km) (1919)[1] |
Track length | 218 miles 8 chains (351.0 km) (1919)[1] |
The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an
The DSER joined with the Great Southern Railway on 1 January 1925, the resultant company being known as Great Southern Railways.[3]: 13–14
History
It was incorporated by
The DSER was much affected by the
A railway bill of 1924 attempted to amalgamate the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR), Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) and DSER into the Great Southern Railway whose networks were entirely within the Irish Free State. The DSER, being part British owned, stayed out of the merger which occurred on 12 November 1924, with a preference to merge with the Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNRI) which covered lines north from Dublin and throughout the North of Ireland. The DSER finally merged with the Great Southern Railway to form the Great Southern Railways (GSR) on 1 January 1925.[3]: 11–14
Predecessors and extensions
Dublin and Kingstown Railway
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) was Ireland's first railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour in County Dublin. It was authorised in 1831, and the first part of the line running from Dublin to Kingstown Pier was opened on 17 December 1834, with an extension to Kingstown ( Dún Laoghaire station's current location) opened on 13 May 1837.
Dalkey Atmospheric Railway
The Dalkey Atmospheric Railway was an extension of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway to Atmospheric Road in Dalkey in County Dublin. It was unofficially opened as far as Sandycove on 19 August 1843. The route from Sandycove to Dalkey (atmospheric station) was opened on 19 March 1844, in time for the official opening of the on 29 March 1844. It used part of the Dalkey Quarry industrial tramway, which was earlier used for the construction of Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) Harbour. It was the first railway of its type in the world.
Dublin and Wicklow Railway Company
The entity that became the DSER was incorporated by
The first section of D&W line from
In 1860 it was renamed the "Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company" in keeping with the southwards expansion of the railway.
Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company
The line was extended onward to Enniscorthy in the early 1860s, starting with the line from Wicklow Junction to Rathdrum (Kilcommon), which opened on 20 August 1861. At this time the line from Wicklow Junction to the Murrough station was bypassed. It remained in use as a freight station and saw occasional passenger services. This was followed by further extensions to Ovoca (Avoca) on 18 July 1863 and Enniscorthy on 16 November 1863 and branch line to Shillelagh in 1865.
In the early 1870s the route was finally completed to Wexford. The route from Enniscorthy to the original Wexford Station (Carcur) was opened on 17 August 1872. It was extended to Wexford North, the current station, in August 1874.
Branch To Waterford
A branch was opened to New Ross in 1887. This left the main line at Macmine near Wexford. It was extended from New Ross to Waterford in 1904. This extension connected with the Great Southern and Western Railway, which in turn connected with trains for the south of Ireland.
City of Dublin Junction Railway
The City of Dublin Junction railway opened on 1 May 1891. This connected the DW&W at Westland Row station with
Network and Infrastructure
The DSER had two main stations in
Grand Canal Street railway works
The locomotive workshop for the DSER was the Grand Canal Street railway works, also known as The Factory, a two-storey converted
Rolling Stock
According to the Railway Year Book 1912,[2] the railway operated 60 locomotives, hauling 253 passenger coaches and 1,005 goods vehicles. The locomotives were painted black picked out with red bands and gold lines, while the passenger vehicles were crimson lake with gold lines.
One DSER steam locomotive is preserved: a 2-6-0 goods locomotive No. 15 (later Great Southern Railways No. 461) owned by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland at Whitehead, County Antrim.
Accidents and incidents
- A derailment on 9 August 1867 at the Brandy Hole Viaduct resulted in the train and most of the coaches falling into the sea below. Two passengers were killed, and there were a further 25 injuries.[5]
- On 20 February 1900, a cattle train overran buffers at
- On 29 February 1908, two shunters; Timothy Doyle and William Needham were killed after a carriage they were pushing collided with a steam engine travelling tender at Bray Station.[7]
See also
- Dublin-Rosslare railway line
- Harcourt Street railway line
- History of rail transport in Ireland
References
- ^ a b The Railway Year Book for 1920. London: The Railway Publishing Company Limited. 1920. p. 105.
- ^ a b Railway Yearbook 1912. London: Railway Publishing Co. 1912.
- ^ ISBN 9781906578268.
- ^ ISBN 1 85780 082 6.
- ^ "Board of Trade, Bray Head, 1867" (PDF). Railways Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ISBN 0-906899-01-X.
- ^ Esbester, Mike (27 February 2024). "One extra day – lots of extra accidents". Railway Work, Life & Death. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
Further reading
- Shepherd, Ernest W. (1974). The Dublin & South Eastern Railway. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OL 5108145M.
- Shepherd, Ernest W.; Beesley, Gerry (2003) [1998]. The Dublin and South Eastern Railway: An Illustrated History. Leicester, Shepperton: ISBN 1-85780-082-6.
- Hennessy, A. T. (1895). Official Tourist Guide of the Dublin and Wicklow Railway. Retrieved 29 October 2019.