Athy (Baile Átha Í)

[Ian Morgan]

Some photos I took at Athy back in 2005 when I attended a wedding nearby. I know very little about Irish railways, but was impressed by the architecture.I will leave it to others to add captions.

 

 

 

[kirley]

Thanks for posting, at just 12 years ago the pictures already have that yesteryear look about them. 

[Robin2]

Only just found this. Fascinating. I grew up in Athy.

 

In the far distance of your 8th photo (which is looking towards Carlow) there used to be a huge swathe of sidings and workshops curving away to the right. They were already derelict when I was a child and I don't know what they were used for.

 

In the same direction there was a branch line to a little village called Ballylinan and a branch off that into a factory that manufactured roofing products using asbestos. IIRC when I was young the branch to Ballylinan was only used for seasonal sugar beet traffic to the sugar factory at Carlow.

 

In your second photo you can see where there used to be a siding with end-loading. And about where you were standing there used to be a hand-operated crane. And behind you there used to be cattle loading pens. I think they were also derelict when I was young.

 

Behind the wall running along the platform on the right in your first photo there used to be a stable for the station horse which was used to deliver parcels around the town using a 4-wheeled horse trailer.

 

Also behind that wall there used to be a goods shed where the houses are now. The track to it ran behind the water tower. I worked in a local hardware store during school holidays and I regularly went to the station yard to help collect bags of cement from a wagon. Sometimes the store was slow about unloading the wagon and customers were sent to the yard to collect their bag of cement direct from the wagon.

 

...R