Passing through M3 Parkway station today, I noticed that the little used Up platform has a ramped section in the middle, for purposes unknown.
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M3 Parkway Station
Author: ewan.duffy
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The Nenagh Branch
Or the railway from Ballybrophy to Killonan for the uninitiated.
This little used railway line (2 trains a day each way and only 1 on Sunday) runs from Ballybrophy (on the Dublin to Cork line) to Killonan – a junction just over 4 miles east of Limerick Station.
Strangely enough for such a line, it has 4 block posts on it, counting the terminal points (Ballybrophy, Roscrea, Birdhill and Killonan). Great you might think, if either of the two trains a day gets out of path, there is the ability to change crossing points.
Except that the two services a day are provided by the one unit and don’t cross anywhere on the line. In addition, whilst Roscrea and Birdhill have two platforms, the Up platform in each case is inaccessible due to no footbridge connection. This latter has become something of an IR standard at “crossing” points, rendering such locations effectively useless for crossing service trains.
In addition, in terms of crossing point location, if you were to design a railway in terms of ideal crossing points, it is unlikely you would do it in this manner. The rough mileages of the crossing points are:
Ballybrophy 0
Roscrea 10
Birdhill 42
Killonan 52
Spot the 32 mile single line section in the middle, giving Boyle to Sligo at only 28 miles a run for its money.
Given that there is full CTC at Ballybrophy and Killonan, the more sensible approach would be to install axle counters (now that track circuits are verboten) at each end of the line and operate it as one 52 mile branch. This would allow the property development company with the inconvenience of a public transport network attached to dispense with the costs of manning 2 signal cabins and associated ETS equipment.
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Ulster Canal and Kingscourt Greenway
A second update – having spent today in Northern Ireland taking photos, I now have recent photos of most of the canal. The only missing section is that from Maydown through the Benburb cutting to Milltown (both exclusive). With the information I had to hand in the field, I could not do this section justice and as such, will make a return trip to cover this section.
I have also added an inset map of Clones to the Ulster Canal map.
As I stayed overnight in Northern Ireland on Saturday, I productively used the trip up there to photograph the station sites on the now fully opened greenway from Navan to Kingscourt and also visited the sites of Glenanne and Loughgilly stations in Co. Armagh. These will also be added to the site shortly.
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Ulster Canal
I have updated the page for the Ulster Canal with a better map, as well as links off this for the 26 locks on the former canal.
This is a work in progress, with not all locks having a photo page created yet – I plan on being in Northern Ireland on Sunday to visit the sites I didn’t get to in July and these will be added to the site (and linked off the aforementioned page) when available.
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Kishoge Station, Dublin
The last ghost station on the Irish Rail network is no more – Kishoge Station in Dublin on the Dublin – Cork line is now open, as of 26th August 2024.
I have updated the Gazetteer to reflect this and created a webpage for same. No photo yet – I will get to this shortly.
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Maynooth Station footbridge
The first post in what will be many about the extension of DART to Maynooth.
At some point between 10th August and 23rd August, the footbridge at Maynooth station was altered such that the steps on Platform 1 (the Up platform) were moved from the Sligo side of the bridge to the Dublin side.
This has the effect of making a staggered footbridge with the steps on platform 2 (down platform) facing Sligo.
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Father of New York Subway
The BBC reports on the unveiling of a blue plaque in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, to commemorate Alexander Orr, who, from the article “is best known for helping finance and arrange construction of New York’s subway system”.
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Northern Ireland Heritage Open Days 2024
European Heritage Open Days takes place in Northern Ireland on 14th and 15th September 2024.
I was going to create a listing of events, however, the website developers have setup their site to not permit deep linking to specific events. As such, I will not be compiling a list of events.
The BBC have an article about the industries of Roman Britain which is interesting.
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The Cable that Changed the World
RTE One will be showing a documentary programme on Monday 12 August 2024 at 21:35, about the transatlantic cable connecting Valentia Island in Kerry to Newfoundland.