2. RAILWAYS
  3. IRISH RAILWAYS

THE SCHULL & SKIBBEREEN LIGHT RAILWAY

The Schull and Skibbereen Railway was a minor narrow gauge railway in County Cork. It opened in 1886 and closed in 1947. The track gauge was 3 foot narrow gauge, as was usual in Ireland. The main line was 15½ miles long. It was one of several in Ireland built under the terms of the Tramways Act 1883. It largely ran alongside roads, although a large 12-arched masonry viaduct was built over an inlet of Roaringwater Bay. The line linked the small harbour and village at Schull with the town of Skibbereen. The only sizeable intermediate village was Ballydehob, although the station was located inconveniently far from the village. The line was single track, with a passing place at Ballydehob station. Other halts were built at Newcourt, Church Cross, Hollyhill, Kilcoe and Woodlands (of which only Hollyhill had a station building). The station at Skibbereen was built on a cramped site adjacent to that of the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway. S&S trains had to reverse out of the station into a headshunt, before proceeding towards Schull. In 1925, it became part of the Great Southern Railways and in 1945 the CIE. In January 1947, services were suspended due to an acute shortage of coal and never reinstated, being formally closed in 1952.
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No.4S - 4-4-0T - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here taking water at Leamawaddra Bridge - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.
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No.4S - 4-4-0T - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here taking water at Leamawaddra Bridge - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.

  • A route map of the Schull & Skibbereen.
  • No.1 GABRIEL - 4-4-0T, built 1906 by Peckett & Co., Works No.1085 - 1925 to GSR as No.1s - withdrawn 1937 - seen here in June 1934.
  • No.1 GABRIEL - 4-4-0T, built 1906 by Peckett & Co., Works No.1085 - 1925 to GSR as No.1s - withdrawn 1937 - seen here on Ballydehob Viaduct on a typical mixed train.
  • No.1 GABRIEL - 4-4-0T, built 1906 by Peckett & Co., Works No.1085 - 1925 to GSR as No.1s - withdrawn 1937.
  • No.2 IDA - 0-4-0T - built 1886 by Dick Kerr & Co., Kilmarnock - 1925 to GSR - 1926 withdrawn - later modified to more resemble a conventional locomotive - seen here in about 1910. These engines were later supplemented as they were not powerful enough to cope with some of the gradients on the line.
  • No.3 CONCILIATION - 4-4-0T built 1914 by Peckett & Co., Works No.1356 - 1920 renamed KENT - 1925 to GSR, 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here at Ballydehob in 1904.
  • No.3 CONCILIATION - 4-4-0T built 1914 by Peckett & Co., Works No.1356 - 1920 renamed KENT - 1925 to GSR, 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954.
  • No.3 CONCILIATION - 4-4-0T built 1914 by Peckett & Co., Works No.1356 - 1920 renamed KENT - 1925 to GSR, 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954.
  • No.3 ILEN - 0-4-0T - built 1886 by Dick Kerr & Co., Kilmarnock - 1914 withdrawn - later modified to more resemble a conventional locomotive - seen here in about 1900. These engines were later supplemented as they were not powerful enough to cope with some of the gradients on the line.
  • No.4S - 4-4-0T - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wils on & Co., Works No.341 - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - builder's picture in original livery - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.
  • No.4S - 4-4-0T - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here taking water at Leamawaddra Bridge - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.
  • No.4S - 4-4-0T - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954.
  • No.4S - 4-4-OT - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here at Holyhill in 1938 - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.
  • No.4S - 4-4-OT - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here near Schill in 1939 - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.
  • No.4S - 4-4-OT - built 1888 by Nasmyth Wilson & Co., Works No.341, as S&SLR No.4 ERIN - 1925 to GSR as No.4S - 1945 to CIE - withdrawn 1954 - seen here near Woodlands - first locomotive in British Isles to be fitted with a Belpaire boiler.
  • No.6S - 0-4-4T, built 1893 by Tim Green & Co., Works No.180, as Cork & Muskerry Light Railway No.6 THE MUSKERRY - 1925 to GSR - withdrawn 1935 - 1936 to S&SLR as No.6s - withdrawn in 1954
  • No.6S - 0-4-4T, built 1893 by Tim Green & Co., Works No.180, as Cork & Muskerry Light Railway No.6 THE MUSKERRY - 1925 to GSR - withdrawn 1935 - 1936 to S&SLR as No.6s - withdrawn in 1954 - seen here at Skibbereen in 1938.
  • No. 6s - 0-4-4T - built 1892 by Tim Green & Co., Works No.180, as Cork & Muskerry Light Railway No.6 THE MUSKERRY - 1925 to GSR as No.6K, 1936 to GSR No.6s and transferred to Schull & Skibbereen Light Railway, 1945 to CIE - 01/47 S&SLR services suspended, 09/52 line closed, 1954 withdrawn - seen here on a broad gauge well wagon on removal for scrap sometime after closure. The loco behind seems to be one of the S&SLR's 4-4-0T's, either 3s or 4s.
  • SKIBBEREEN STATION - the remains of Skibbereen narrow gauge station in about 1960. The adjacent broad gauge station is on the right.
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