Last Days of Limerick Ballina Train Service 1976

[@29brendus]

One could say the dog was well trained. Fantastic look back at Ireland and very nostalgic. Simpler times and not a mobile phone in sight or ubiquitos TV screen. People looked happier, smiling and less hurried. Great days when you could stick your head outa' the window.

[@SouthernYard]

Slower days indeed! More variety on the railway but it was struggling to modernise.

[@FirstAid1]

I don't know how I ended up with this video, but it's a real joy to watch. Altough I have no connections to Ireland, I still have something in common with the people in this video, I'm a Railwayman with all my heart and soul. Best regards from Austria, to my fellow irish colleagues.

[@patcoen1113]

That film made my day. Especially the ticket collector with the passengers and the red seats of the carriage lit by the sun. Seeing Claremorris South with the footbridge and Ballinrobe Rd crossing before joining the Westport & Munalla Junction/Ballina line was fantastic. I was fortunate to travel between Limerick & Athenry on the Back N Black tour in March 1999, Hauled by preserved A39.

[@SouthernYard]

It’s a real cinematic feel to it. Tony Price really captures the essence of the times and service at the time.

[@gerrymcardle9319]

A beautiful video of a time gone by accompanied wonderful music. I worked in CIE in the truck and bus workshop in Dundalk as an apprentice mechanic from 1962 until 1966 then finished in Broadstone workshop in Dublin one until 1967 as I reflect now It was the best time of my life . Now in Sydney since 1970 .

[@patcoen1113]

Almost completely flawless film. Fantastic!

[@SouthernYard]

Great video indeed, Tony Price was an excellent filmaker.

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

I really liked this film, brought back happy memories of my journeys round Ireland by train in the 1970s, a care-free era looking back now! Thanks.

[@SouthernYard]

Times have changed, but back then our government wanted to run down our railways.

[@Celtic2Realms]

Wonderful dog. Lovely film

[@SouthernYard]

Columbo the dog!

[@EI6ISB]

The German Shepard with the staff 😃 love it, such nostalgic footage, always sad looking at railway times that will never be again... Thanks for putting up these videos.

[@SouthernYard]

Different times, life was much slower. Thankfully Galway-Limerick is now open again.

[@RUOKH]

Filmed when the sun always shined, and you could walk from Cork to Larne to see the Forty Shades of Green. Oh, what have we lost! Thank you, Tony; thank you Frank.

[@JB-yw8ot]

Fantastic stuff, Frank - thanks for sharing.

[@johnmcgahern3946]

👍 Great video to the Classic Tranquility soundtrack - Phil Coulter.

[@SouthernYard]

A fine piece of cinematography from Tony Price.

[@martinbitter4162]

Got to love the dog ❤️ Rather complex operation at Athenry.

[@SouthernYard]

Columbo the dog!

[@RYNT1157]

Projected that 8mm film in Cork many times for Tony Price when he used to do his film show.

[@SouthernYard]

Tony was a real film maker. His cine footage tells a story. He’s left us a fabulous collection.

[@zftransmax1]

Simpler times.. when people had time to stop and chat.. lovely film

[@josephmullen3254]

Love these types of trains

[@patrickwarby1140]

The country had a great rail network back then. What a shame it is gone.

[@SouthernYard]

Sure did if it was a bit under-utilised. The plans are to reinstate some of these which is a positive.

[@patrickwarby1140]

Sure hope the do.

[@ArcadiaJunctionHobbies]

When Ireland was still a magical and special place.

[@squarecircle5522]

Yes, stepped in poverty while young children were being molested by the clergy, magical indeed.

[@gard7662]

Still is!

[@PolakInHolland]

@@gard7662 Clearly not been to Dublin lately. The globalists are slowly ridding you of all identity.

[@RJH1971]

Colombo was officially the coolest dog

[@SouthernYard]

And one of the most useful too!

[@dannyoconnor824]

What’s the instrument in the signal cab at 3:46?

[@terryhiggins9700]

As far as I know, it was know as the instrument. It received or released the token. They also sometimes released a key to unlock levers for switching lines. Both signal men had to crank a handle and there was something like a morse code yoke to push down which released the token at the other end, section of track. Birdhill and killonan still use this.

[@dannyoconnor824]

@@terryhiggins9700 Many thanks for explaining!

[@lincolnarmasols283]

Known as the instrument coded Bell signals between the signal cabins

[@joeryan1153]

Did the line reopen on the week end of the papal visit for special trains in 1979?

[@SouthernYard]

Passenger specials operated over this line until 1991 and railtours until 1997! Last freight over the route to 2000/2001.

[@johnhayes4110]

What was the cerkle ting They were handing to the driver's?

[@terryhiggins9700]

Token as mentioned before. All tokens were different. Say limerick to birdhill would all be the same. Birdhill to Nenagh would have been the same but different to limerick to birdhill.

[@Steve14ps]

@@terryhiggins9700 There were six patterns of ETSs, A to F, to ensure that a token could not be put into the wrong instrument.

[@Leadplug]

1976 when the destruction of rail services on the Western Rail Corridor - the current so called Atlantic Economic Corridor, began.......a few years later FG used the same railway for Garrett’s Election Express and John Bruton did the same, before declaring when they won elected office, through their Transport Minister, the late Jim Mitchell that “ there will be no more substantial investment in railways”: and they then celebrated its closure to passenger and freight services. But the people of the West brought about its resurrection in 2010 and the Limerick- Galway Railway carried over 600,000 passengers in 2019.......and the next phase from Galway to Mayo will surpass this when our elected representatives eventually deliver on their promises to correct past mistakes. Great scenes here of our railway crews delivering a public service while the bureaucrats undermined their every effort.

[@SouthernYard]

Our politicians now have the opportunity to change the mistakes of the past. We tend to remember people who make brave decisions not those who obstruct. Time will tell.

[@brendancostigan6267]

@@SouthernYard

[@IESpotter]

Does anyone know the name of the signalling system using the loops at the start of the video?

[@Steve14ps]

Electric Train Staff or ETS, only one staff for each section could be issued at a time, Driver could only travel on single-line section carrying the ETS. One Train Staff was inflexible (except on a dead-end branch line) ETS allowed several trains to travel in one direction before a return working.

[@IESpotter]

@@Steve14ps thanks!

[@Steve14ps]

@@IESpotter Welcome

[@lincolnarmasols283]

Electric token block system still in use today on limerick junction to Waterford line.

[@CRyan71]

Were there protests at the time or did people just accept the closure? What was the reason? Was it that moŕe and more people started buying cars?

[@SouthernYard]

No protests, people just accepted this unfortunately. The government some years earlier had made the service useless for the travelling public by having one service a day. To make matters worse, you couldn’t do a round trip from say Limerick to Galway as the train timetable didn’t facilitate it. In one station the southbound train stopped there, but the northbound didn’t…….hard to believe! Because of this very few people used it. This was closure by stealth and was policy in these times across a number of routes. Imagine operating a service today with one train each way. The bus service was better, and CIE put on competing bus services on this route also, further highlighting to the public how useless the train service was. Thankfully these type of policies are generally gone, but even today the Limerick-Waterford and Ballybrophy line services being below what’s needed.

[@CRyan71]

@SouthernYard I'd love to see old stations opened. Take for example the Limerick Junction to Limerick line. I drive the Tipp Limerick Road most days and it's bumper to bumper. The middle of the day now is like what rush hour was like a few years back. Traffic backed up to Boher in the morning. Many cars with just the driver. Meanwhile the rail line runs beside it all the way. I'd love to see a commuter train stop at 2, 3 or 4 junctions say Oola, Dromkeen, Boher every half hour from say 06.30 to 09.00 and again 16.30 to 19.00. Only thing is you wouldn't have many needing these stops exiting Limerick in the am needing those stops nor needing them entering Limerick in the PM.

[@Berlin-er]

@@SouthernYard Even the reopened portion of the WRC between Limerick and Galway is underserved in my opinion

[@madalamzungu1063]

To Tullicrine by train in the 1960's. A distant, quieter world.

[@TheDaf95xf]

That woof 🐶 was fantastic holding the single line token hoop 🤩 Pulling up the railways was madness back then but we didn’t realise how important they’d be today with the warming of our planet 🤔 I see that Irish rail is having a bit of a come back especially with new freight services like XPO new container train from Waterford 😄 Didn’t Bell liners run out of Waterford back in the day? Let’s hope more can be done now everywhere has a HGV driver shortage 😃 It’s the same story back in the U.K.

[@SouthernYard]

The dogs name was ‘Columbo’. A useful friend to have! Thankfully the rails weren’t lifted after closure and half of this route was reopened in 2010 as part of the Galway-Limerick service. The Claremorris-Limerick route saw special passenger trains and freight up until the final revenue earning train in 2000. A campaign to reopen the Claremorris- Athenry section is ongoing. Today with container(XPO) and timber trains from Co Mayo to Waterford there’s traffic available immediately for this route.

[@toyotaprius79]

Good dog!

[@SouthernYard]

Columbo was the dogs name!