Farranfore – Valencia Harbor railway line
| Farranfore – Valencia Harbor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Steam locomotive No. 107 in Valentia Harbor station
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 Route according to the Viceregal Commission, 1906
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| Route length: | 63.5 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1600 mm ( Irish track ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Farranfore – Valencia Harbor railway was a 63.5 km long, single-track, broad gauge railway line that operated from 1892 to 1960 on the south bank of Dingle Bay in Ireland . Until it was closed, it was the westernmost railway line in Europe.
history
The Great Southern and Western Railway Company (GS & WR) opened the 20.1 km section from Farranfore to Killorglin on January 15, 1885. The line was extended from 1890 by 43.4 km to Valentia Harbor and on September 12, 1893 officially put into operation. The route branches off at Farranfore from the main Tralee - Mallow route and crossed a scenic area on the Iveragh Peninsula along Dingle Bay on a mountain route to the west .
It was the main mode of transport on the Iveragh Peninsula for 75 years. The last train ran from Killorglin on January 30, 1960, and on February 1, 1960 the line was closed.
The Laune Viaduct in Killorglin, two tunnels and the Gleensk Viaduct are still preserved. Most of the other buildings have since been demolished to reuse the land for other purposes. In June 2013 it was announced that the route of the disused and dismantled railway line in the section from Cahirciveen to Reenard would be transferred from the Irish Rails parent company CIÉ to the Kerry County Council to create the Fertha Greenway, a 5.75 km long combined walking and cycling route to build that is listed as one of Lonely Planet's Best Things to Do in the Future.
literature
- Patrick O'Sullivan: The Farranfore to Valencia Harbor Railway, Volume 1. The Oakwood Press, United Kingdom, 2003, ISBN 0853616043 .
- Patrick O'Sullivan: The Farranfore to Valencia Harbor Railway, Volume 2. The Oakwood Press, Great Britain, 2003, ISBN 0853616108 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Joan O'Sullivan: The railway line from Farranfore to Valentia harbor in Co Kerry. Youtube video.
- ↑ a b Inscription on a memorial stone in Killorglin.
- ^ A b c Killorglin Archive Society: Killorglin to Valentia Railway 1892-1960. Amazing images. Youtube video.
- ^ Killorglin Archive Society: Killorglin To Valentia Railway Part 2. Youtube video.
- ^ Ordnance Survey Ireland: The Gleensk Viaduct on an old map. ( Memento of the original from February 13, 2011 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Industrial archeology in rural Ireland: Gleensk Viaduct, Co Kerry (1893).
- ↑ Cian Ginty: Disused railway Kerry to be signed over to council for greenway. Published on June 23, 2014 on www.irishcycle.com. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
Coordinates: 52 ° 1 ′ 52.6 " N , 10 ° 4 ′ 6.6" W.