Tralee and Dingle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Callled by today, what a sad sight. Weeds growing on platform and track, no signage at all in evidence. Boiler (of No5 presumably) sat in yard with all the signs of being there along time (plus the cab roof). Sveral bogies seemingly dumped in yard too.Fences falling down or missing.

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Yes, a sad sight. We didn't even bother to call in when in Kerry last year. Costs of repairs to No 5T are beyond current funds, I gather. But. There are a couple of possible "rescues" on the go but I cannot say any more at the moment...

Steve
(also a T&D nutter - see www.tdlr.org.uk)

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Actually I quite liked the weeds on the track , it looked way more authentic that way....drag out the spare coaches and put some cattle in them and it would look just right.... Can Ireland NOT afford to restore No5 and get this tourist attraction going in this recession?

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Yes, I know what you mean about the trackbed looking just right

Things might improve if only Tralee Town Council would take a proper interest in the reopened line, which after all used to bring visitors and their money into the town. But with the railway concern being privately owned, and with no supporting organisation or even a website, the fate of the line and stock seems (currently) entirely in the hands of a company who have most of their eggs in their well-known (and impressive) sailing ship. There is some serious lobbying going on and who knows what this year may bring...

Steve

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

I was there several years ago during the summer but not much seemed to be going on. I went to Kerry last year and thought about visiting but I couldn't find a website or any local information.

When I was a kid I built a balsa wood model of No 5 on a Marklin chassis http://nick301.photos.us.com/p47655153.html

It's a shame the line is not successful, but Kerry is quite a long way off the neaten track (which is part of its charm) and the number of potential passengers is never going to match the lines in Britain.

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

I had a ride behind 5T a few years ago, quite pleasant in a small-scale kind of way but the highlight of the trip for me was seeing the ship under construction at Blennerville, which of course has now sailed so isn't there any more. The railway really just trundles across a couple of fields. And at the Tralee end, the terminus (which IIRC is next to a supermarket on the edge of town) isn't very inspiring.

The next time I stopped by a couple of years later, the steam engine was in bits and a hired-in Bord Na Mona diesel was handling passenger trains. These still seemed to be fairly popular.

Finally, I stopped by briefly last year and I have to agree with the earlier postings, what a sad sight. We drove (in hired car) around the Dingle peninsula and the scenery is spectacular... now if only the railway could "do a Welsh Highland" and be rebuilt all the way, rather than being limited to the (relatively) boring bit at one end... that would really be worth the trip. Sadly, it's probably a bit far off the beaten track to ever justify the investment?

Phil

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Sounds like the ideal advert for an Irish railway! ;-)

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Yes, agreed. The "new" line does not provide an ounce of character compared with the original lin, even if the new line was extended westwards beyond Blennerville for a mile or so. And the new Tralee terminus, next to the Aquadrome, may not be a patch on the old terminus, but it's about all that could be done, given the developments and road improvements which since 1953 have obliterated the old section from Basin to Tralee (T&D) Station.

With so much of the former alignment running, unfenced, alongside the public road, I doubt the Safety folks would ever allow a rebuild, especially with all those ungated, shallow-angled level crossings where the line went from one side of the road to the other, with the train assuming right of way. If it were possible to rebuild the line, it would be a very popular trip, even if Corca Dhuibhne is a bit off the beaten track.

Steve
(WSW)

 

Move the whole operation to the junction and relay up Glenagalt.... [-o<

Or operate out of Dingle which is far more a tourist destination (oh and far far more remote....

 

Great ideas! Nice water towers still exist at both the Junction and Dingle. Although would need to persuade the funeral directors/filling station to move out of Dingle Station. It's only half a mile long, but with steep gradients, so perhaps relay just the Harbour Branch and run up and down that bit

Steve
(WSW)

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Alternatively, I wonder if it could be extended as far as Castlegregory (the old branch)? Given that most of the custom would be tourism and that there is a beach there which Tralee certainly doesn't have. At least it would give Joe Public a reason to travel on the line. One would have thought there is only going to be limited stock available and only one steam engine, so climbing over the mountains seems unrealistic.

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Although Co. Kerry is remote, there is quite a lot of tourism in the district and not that many "attractions". A modest steam line could do quite well, provided it looks right, goes "from" somewhere, and could eventually go "to" somewhere else, even if, temporarily, it ends in a field or beside a new road.

Given the nature of the district and climate, I think dramatic scenery is a more relevant attraction than a beach. Few people go to Dingle to build sandcastles and work on their tan!

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

the trouble with the existing set up is that it is "just" a train ride....theres nothing else....no other stock to look at or work in progress....no museum ..no shop...no cafe...zilch....you need all these and you NEED lots of volunteers....

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Well, true, but if you're going on holiday anywhere in these islands that's true to some extent - fortunately you can do a lot more on a beach than just get a tan! However, I haven't actually been to Castlegregory so I don't know what its like, though I have been to Tralee and ridden behind No. 5. Got some pics somewhere too. You'd still see some pretty excellent scenery on the way as well, just not as spectacular as going over the top. However, you could say much the same of lines like the Talyllyn - imagine the scenery if it had been extended to join up with the Corris - but what it does have isn't bad.

My point really was the same as everyone else - the railway needs to have some sort of reason for riding on it - and since money and resources are limited I thought Castlegregory might be an attainable goal - for many reasons I'd have thought restoring the mountain sections themselves would be impractical, above all if an isolated section was to be restored. Tralee at least has a regular tourist trade - mainly Americans, it seems - and if the train runs from there it should be able to tap into them if only it can give them a reason to try it out. Ideally it would get a terminus nearer to the centre of town too.

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Sorry, I was trying to be funny, but it came out as flippant. Having looked at the web site that WSW linked, above, I can see that the Castlegregory branch might indeed be a good restoration project. Fewer road crossings, for one thing, and as you say, a more attainable goal with limited resources. There would probably be little point trying to go "over the mountain" unless you could be sure of completing the whole route to Dingle - eventually.

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Nice beaches along there actually - we stopped off at one when driving around last year (and IIRC I got my shoes wet, or was it socks covered in sand... anyway). But Dingle, for all the fact that it's further, would at least attract punters from both ends. I couldn't see the beach doing that.

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Theres that museum with the windmill at one end. Visited last year to find nothing......except a boiler and remains of a cab

 

Whilst it's nice to dream of alternative locations, I think the priority task is to get steam back on the existing line. The Blennerville Windmill is an obvious attraction at one end, whilst the Aquadrome Car Park is only a few minutes walk from the town centre, so the potential is there. Get that stretch working well and who knows what'll follow. All is not lost - yet.

(message to mods - can you correct the thread title from "Digle" to "Dingle", please [-o< )

Steve
(www.tdlr.org.uk)

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

my error...i did correct it in the post but couldnt do the title...

thisa line SHOULD be a winner with an attraction at both ends, but all it is , is a trundle past the rubbish dump...it needs to be taken over by enthusiasts....trouble is theer arent many in Munster...let alone the rest of Ireland.

There was an enthusiast push to re-open the Fenit/tralee line but it came to nothing....

 

Re: Tralee and Digle rly...Blennerville co kerry

Agree 100% AM - and yes the municipal tip is not the best landscape in Kerry - but we are the enthusiasts so who amongst us can lead the takeover? I have the enthusiasm but no cash and I am a little matter of 450 miles away, and I guess others are in the same position. There is a small group of T&D enthusiasts on a long-standing Yahoo group with good contacts with some of the T&D "greats", but I fear a lot of money and many more people need to be involved. However, as I mentioned in an earlier post, there are some backroom moves afoot... :-#

Steve