History of the West Clare Railway
The West Clare Railway was built as a narrow-gauge light railway under the Tramways Act of 1883, which provisioned for the construction of light railways for the development and improvement of marginalised areas. One of the main purposes of a light railway was to provide a comprehensive service to the area which it served and rather than aiming to follow the shortest distance between two points, these lines often followed a circuitous route, with stations or halts located regularly along the line in order to achieve this. The entire line, 54 miles in total length, was run as a single entity despite being owned by two discrete companies.
In 1887, when the West Clare Railway opened, it ran for 27 miles between Ennis and Miltown Malbay, first running north via Ruan, Corofin, then turning west for Wilbrook, Clouna, Moanreal, Ennistymon and Lahinch, before turning southwards towards Rineen and Miltown Malbay. A few years later in 1892, the South Clare Railway opened. This connected Miltown Malbay, via Qulty, Kilmurry, Doonbeg, and Shragh with Moyasta junction, where it branched west towards Kilkee and east towards Kilrush. The first train from Miltown Malbay to Kilkee left Miltown Malbay on the 11th of May 1892. The railway was successful in reaching marginalised areas, increasing employment but it also increased the traffic of tourism. The railway network began providing special excursion trains, this included trips to:
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Fairs and Markets
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Political Events
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GAA Matches
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Race Meetings
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Football and Cricket Fixtures
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Boating Events
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Seaside Trips
There was increased competition from road traffic, privately owned vehicles were making the train service untenable, and it became very expensive following the Second World War because of the price of coal. In 1948, CIE decided to cease operation of the line due to a decline in passenger numbers. However, in 1952 steam engine trains were replaced with diesel engine trains and the line continued to remain in operation until 1961 which makes the West Clare Railway the only narrow-gauge line in Ireland to undergo complete dieselisation, in 1952.
Credit: Edel Barry
