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Tralee and Blennerville Railway, Co Kerry, Ireland


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We visited Blennerville last Summer and there was no sign of life - just grass growing over the track. It was so depressing that I did not even bother to take a picture. If the line is being resurrected, it would be nice to know. 

Best wishes

Eric  

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It's really the Council which is the stumbling block, as there are a number of vested interests within it which have refused to cede control.

 

The great surprise is that, since the preserved line closed, the metal thieves haven't gone in and helped themselves.

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Here is the text as on facebook for you non-fb-believers.

 

"Now Lads and Lassies, the up to date position.

Our impromptu Grouping met a month ago in Tralee and held a Meeting .
What followed that day was a photo taken with our Town Engineer and a marvellous article in The Kerryman Newspaper , which ( excuse the pun ) helped set off a head of steam , for the regenerated Campaign.

The Company- The Windmill Company controls the Steam Railway facility - dormant now for nearly SEVEN YEARS .

Your informal Committee met yesterday again in Tralee and following a short Meeting, visited The Blennerville facility and then walked the Rail Line. 
At 4.15pm , we then met Jim Finucane, MCC & Tralee District Mayor.
He was accompanied by John Griffin , representing KCC and who has a proven record, going all the way back to the original Project in getting The Tralee - Blennerville Steam Line , up in running in 1995.

We have had, what we describe, as a preliminary sounding out Meeting . 
We will meet again , with John & Jim , to present a detailed Proposal.

We are not at one Yet , in the way they perceive control over the project succeeding and where we see it going.

We see a very Volunteer orientated Organisation, which we believe , may appeal to them , when they see the fuller picture.

In the meantime , we need to stabilise and formulate our structure.

We must Elect a Committee and formulate a Society, or Trust.

We have lots of work to do and we need people to Volunteer their Services - where they feel that they have a particular Skill level ?

I'm a Chartered Surveyor / Arbitrator / Negotiator - so my skills are in that area .

So basically , an Audit of Talents , is immediately needed and then we can assess where we are going .
We are setting our perceptive sites on 2016 or late 2015 at the earliest, to get this project up and running - if we succeed in selling our ability and skills to the current Company and Kerry County Council.

Tonnes of work to be done Folks - Can I open the Debate by asking - Are we up for it ? 
Have we the Energy ?
Have we the Skill Set ?

How many are truly committed ?

DEBATE OPEN !!!!!!"

 

NOT my post although I can answer questions reasonably reliably.

 

The railway is intact, the carriages are in reasonable order, the track needs some re-sleepering, some attention needed to station platforms and in other areas. Basically the line could be re-opened in a relatively short term with volunteer input and an acheivable sum of cash. A diesel loco would be needed a 5T is out of use for the immediate future.

 

Can we do it?  well, we're going to try... we're moving forward at least after 7 years of inactivity.

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It is now, but not in the early years of "modern abandonment". I remember a message by Ted Polet, webmaster of the 009 Society Dutch Group, that he* saw parts of 5T laying in the open air, exposed to the sea climate Tralee has.

 

*or he reported it, relaying a message from someone else, can't remember and I can't find the relevant page anymore.

This photo from some time back shows the actual position as I understood it. The boiler was set up on a stand, presumably to work on it. The cab roof was also outside I think. Presumably work stopped when the boiler was found to need a lot of work, a diesel was hired but the railway foundered not long after. 

 

It's not my photo (and I found it on the net) so I can't say how long ago it was. 

post-23497-0-76341200-1425992511.jpg

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Picture 2 is Blennerville, with the windmill in the background,and away to the right is a restored Ship Canal and to the left in the background are the Brandon Mountains.

 

Picture 3 is Tralee Ballyard or Aquadome station with said latter in background, and the Town (which is very attractive, 5 minutes walk 

 

A new , never used , halt exists on route to serve the wetland Centre, which is another popular attraction.

 

Both ends of the line are thus in great positions to attract lots of visitors, I understand the best year they carried 45000 people.  

 

PS the Municipal Dump has been removed

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That line could do with some weed-killer ;)

 

Anyway, is my understanding correct you are the person "pulling the cart" so to speak? I don't know how well versed you are in railway matters, but as a railway professional I can tell you you have your work cut out! Especially on the carriages, after 7 idle years they need a full overhaul, paying particular attention to the bearings, frames, pivot (crown & pinion), springs and the entire brake system. I'm not too worried about a lick of paint or a missing and therefore boarded-up pane of window glass, safety must always come first! Regrettably I'm not in a position to come over and help out :(

As it happens I'm not that person. Just a footsoldier-in-waiting. I do however have experience of coach restoration having co-owned my own std gauge coach and been involved in almost total refurbishment of it

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  • 5 months later...
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I recall riding the line about 20 years ago when the steam loco was operating. It was quite a short run with the windmill the main feature. Kids were not that interested and the ride featureless, unlike the T&D further west. We enjoyed the Cavan & Leitrim, West Coast & Fintown lines quite a lot more. Maybe the enthusiast group will make it more interesting.

 

Dava

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I recall riding the line about 20 years ago when the steam loco was operating. It was quite a short run with the windmill the main feature. Kids were not that interested and the ride featureless, unlike the T&D further west. We enjoyed the Cavan & Leitrim, West Coast & Fintown lines quite a lot more. Maybe the enthusiast group will make it more interesting.

 

Dava

That's a very valid point and the new regime have that firmly taken on board. The ride will be much more interesting now as the Municipal Dump is no more and a Wetland Centre has been opened which has it's own (so far unused) platform. The stations will need upgrading so that they are no longer mere platforms and facilities and cosmetic items added. Extending further west is unlikely, but there are plans to maximise the remaining features on the rest of the line, of which there are quite  a few.

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The upside is that Tralee is an attractive town for visitors & the Railway can add to\benefit from this. Also the T&D story is an interesting one (cattle trains etc) which the previous operator did not use. So I wish it every success.

 

As the then owner of the West Clare at Moyasta said to me, its hard to make a living in the West. I doubt that's changed, its like that here in Atlantic Canada and we lost the fight for our Railway yesterday (see my Cape Breton thread).

 

Dava

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The one thing the Welsh Highland has that we don't is people, in terms of potential passengers and more so in terms of Volunteers. Ireland does not have the same tradition of volunteerism either which re-doubles the problem.  We'll be hard put to restore and run the existing section to be honest.

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Unfortunately there are no major conurbations anywhere near Tralee to provide an amount of volunteers and not a lot of enthusiasts to get involved anyway. There's nowhere for them to come from.

 

The Welsh Highland is easily accessible from the major cities of middle England, and smack in the middle of a very busy tourist area.

 

Tralee is very small and quiet in comparison..  The only city of any size in Ireland is Dublin, a couple of hundred miles away. The second City, at least 2 hours away, (Cork) is smaller the my namesake which is a mere Town in the UK.

 

We will get volunteers, they will largely be non-enthusiasts, volunteering for the benefit of Kerry and Tralee tourism rather than out of a Railway hobby. 

 

Social Media is providing good support that we need to convert to bodies on the ground, over 1100 "likes" in about a month..

 

You are correct about "foreigners"....English Accents nearly eclipsing Kerry ones at present (locally resident though)

 

We inspected the line today to determine how many sleepers need replacing (about 20%) and mustered around 8 of us which is very encouraging. we are not yet in possession so are limited in what we can do, champing at the bit you might say

 

I have to acknowledge the help and advice we are getting from the West Clare Railway and other sources.

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The only city of any size in Ireland is Dublin, a couple of hundred miles away. The second City, at least 2 hours away, ... .

 

 

All those Toll roads in the Republic must be having an effect if the journey time from Belfast is approaching 2 hours!

 

I have to agree that the Welsh Highland is a poor analogy. Its more like the Strathspey.

Edited by Bomag
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Belfast is not in Ireland. It is ON Ireland (an Island) but not IN Ireland (a Country) . I don't think Belfast would take too kindly to being subordinate to Dublin somehow.

 

The Republic of Ireland is not the same as the Island of Ireland, just as England is not the same as Great Britain.

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Do not rush HE 555 aim to start it as a 10-15 year project after starting running with a diesel loco and coach.  How about say a Wagonmaster from Bord Na Mona?

 

I look forward to assisting any way I can.

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I'd hope that No5 would be sooner than that (ie whilst I'm still alive :-) )  ..it is rumoured to cost €100 to 250 k to rebuild the damaged boiler.   A loco is in the pipeline we hope for commencement of services, the track is the immediate biggi to be tackled

I'm assuming that's just cost of fixing boiler, any ballpark figure for putting it all back together?

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