Off The Beaten Track - Dungarvan to Waterford

[@johnmehaffey9953]

My wife walked this last year from Waterford to Dungarvan and thoroughly enjoyed every step, I joined her at different places and walked over the viaduct and as i love the railways and their buildings the walk along the track bed looking for the old stations and halts delighted me as well

[@TheIrishMainline]

***** Thanks for watching! There is no chance whatsoever of the Waterford - Rosslare line being reopened for passenger services sadly. Irish Rail showed scant regard to it when it was operational with farcical timetabling and low service frequency which eventually led to it's demise. Even the line from Waterford to Limerick is in danger of losing it's service at present. The former line as shown in this program to Dungarvan is now a greenway afaik so it's curtains for that too. Such a shame as it was a beautiful scenic stretch of line.

[@joshuaW5621]

Well, at least the greenway and the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway are now preserving the route.

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Well, I enjoyed it very much while it lasted, so many thanks for the pleasure! I'll keep tuned in. Paddy

[@suecondon1685]

Absolutely wonderful! So many endearing characters. Currently doing my family tree, some of which were Foley's from Dungarvan. Loved this!

[@IrishModelRail]

Excellent documentary. Thanks for uploading, this line is one that certainly shouldn't have closed:(

[@TheIrishMainline]

Knew you'd like it :) There's 4 more episodes, will have another up tomorrow hopefully.

[@IrishModelRail]

I'm looking forward to them:)

[@Celtic2Realms]

Thanks for uploading = my local railway line. Born too late to see it at work.

[@TheIrishMainline]

No prob, glad you enjoyed it :)

[@James-Power82]

Lovely viewing, my Dad and much of my family are from the area (and still live there; Bunmahon, Kilmacthomas etc), and I was fortunate enough to get some pictures of the impressive viaduct at Kilmacthomas, I wouldn't mind exploring more of the old route in the future.

[@TheIrishMainline]

+James Power Glad you enjoyed it James, it was a beautiful scenic line, most of which is currently being converted to a greenway so at least it won't be lost to nature.

[@georgel74]

Lovely to see this.. I seem to remember as a child getting on a train at cappoquin going to Rosslare..

[@Eiretrains]

Thanks for uploading this, have it on an old VHS somewhere!

[@TheIrishMainline]

No prob m8! I've the other 4 in the series to upload yet. One of RTÉ's better efforts I must say :)

[@ArcadiaJunctionHobbies]

Fascinating but bizarre. He begins by saying he campaigned to have the railway closed and then lamented there was no railway left when it was gone!

[@seanmaher9599]

oam watching it, jack o neill is just great, he worked with my dad johnny maher,from kilmacow he is pictured with him in the filming, it is one of the still photos, prior to jack talking. my dad loved this route, he loved ballinacourtey, he loved going into Elsteads public house, he loved the people there and the elsteads family used have darts and sing songs, my dad told me he was the 'unofficial' manager for a john walsh, dunkitt, who usedto sing in the bar there. the dolamite train from bennetsbridge to the quigley plant was of great interst to my dad, as always the vegetables in that part of waterford grew better and earlier, this afforded him and others to 'sample' the years criop and look forard to their own some weeks or months later. these men were great, the stream was heir loved ones, by the way, my uncle tomas walsh from dunkitt done a spell in durrow in the station and for years he and my dad and their loved ones, josie in my case and annie, tom wife used to drive to mahoneys pub and enjoy a few drinks and drive home not by rail but by road, did they crash or have an accident, did they want. liam clancy,got rest themall now, is great in the commemtary. nollaigh shona to all. it has bought a tear.slan, seán

[@TheIrishMainline]

+Sean Maher A lovely account there Seán many thanks for sharing! Glad it brings back so many fond memories for you :)

[@destig83]

No problem, remember seeing this a kid on TV, was big thing seeing it especially the videos on the line of the trains running.

[@TheIrishMainline]

Any Irish train documentary was a big thing, even now! Just not enough of them :(

[@deli7571]

I met Tom today. Good man, real friendly demeanor.

[@TheDaf95xf]

What a shame it’s all gone 😩

[@mjc8364]

But it's now the beautiful Waterford Greenway so it's now being put to good use. People are back using this route.

[@joshuaW5621]

⁠@@mjc8364 it may not be the same as taking the train, but it’s great to see it being used again.

[@jimtiv]

Really enjoyed that .. thank you for sharing

[@TheIrishMainline]

No prob m8, thanks for watching :)

[@Lartigue24]

Great video and thanks for uploading! They made a small mistake at 20:05 when they said Waterford has no rail though. Further down the Suir the Waterford-Kilkenny boundary crosses so that Plunkett Station and most of a small town called Ferrybank are actually in County Waterford.

[@TheIrishMainline]

No prob m8, glad you enjoyed it. Just had a look through Google maps and you're right! I always thought the river formed the boundary all the way through the city but obviously not!

[@Lartigue24]

The Irish Mainline That's probably what most people think since the river is the boundary for most of the way! Glad that's not the case though, it would be kind of ironic to have Waterford's only station in Kilkenny!

[@TheIrishMainline]

Yeah wouldn't it! :D Wonder was it always like this or was the boundary changed to suit the railway when it first came on the scene? Must look into this :)

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Thanks. Notice appears "This video is not available." I was able to watch it a month ago no problem.

[@TheIrishMainline]

+Paddy Wilkinson It's playing fine from my end, even when I'm logged out of my account. What browser are you using Paddy?

[@robinparkes9]

Lovely to see passenger trains on the line. My son and I rode the Deise Greenway back in 2018 when we were there on holiday from the north. We also were on the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway the day before we had to head home.

[@joshuaW5621]

This part of the line is now part of the Waterford greenway and the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway.

[@irishrailtrains]

Nice documentary. Its sad the way the line closed. I remember when I was in Waterford I saw the old iorn bridge spaning across the River Suir. I remember looking at the line on Google Earth and I saw an abandoned C class loco near the bridge.

[@TheIrishMainline]

Thankfully the line as far as Kilmeaden is still open as a narrow gauge railway, well worth a visit if you're ever down there again. That loco could well have been 202, now residing in someones back yard in Kilmacow I think: tinyurl.com/ojlak4z tinyurl.com/oa9oe3w

[@RJGMovie]

very enjoyable programme. I cycled the greenway here last week and wondered what it must have been like when the line was open. While its nice to cycle or walk these routes, its also sad that the line has gone.

[@tomcarr1358]

Looks like yer man Clancy. I used the 'expresses' to and from the ferry at Rosslare. They had restaurant cars. Nothing better than getting off the ferry and going almost immediately to the train , for breakfast. Today's trip is pretty miserable , by car, but with some fine roads.

[@MrDsk777]

Love this and love this country of ours... the old cultures that we have and which we hope to hold onto in spite of this covid 19 virus!.. but I would also love to see more of old Waterford movies if there are any? Thanks for this one though!😊

[@TheIrishMainline]

Some great vintage footage of the Waterford area on the IRRS channel: kzbin.infosearch?query=waterford

[@emeraldislevideography4484]

Love watching these old video

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Thanks EV, keep up the good work. Enjoy all the comments re railways.

[@Finnbar01]

I remember we used to call that bridge the Red Iron bridge. Some of my friends used to ride across the top of it on their BMX bikes.

[@TheIrishMainline]

Is that the bridge in Waterford you're referring to? Not much chance of getting from one side to the other on a BMX now! :D

[@Finnbar01]

The Irish Mainline Yes, the bridge across the river Suir just up from the city. They used to cycle right on the top, not on the tracks. It was quite scary watching them.

[@TheIrishMainline]

I'll bet it was, that took some balls!!

[@Jigacmurphy05]

Rip Tom o’Mahoney he died in 2021

[@TheIrishMainline]

Seemed quite a character, God rest him.

[@dathlone618]

A really sound man, may he rest in peace.

[@JPRothery]

Thanks thats great, exactly what I like

[@TheIrishMainline]

You're welcome JP and thanks for the sub :)

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Thanks once again, EV, tried clearing cache and website data, still same old message, I'll try removing from my history list and search again, must be some gremlins at work on this iPad?! All the best, Paddy

[@TheIrishMainline]

+Paddy Wilkinson Yeah there's something odd going on alright Paddy. I've double checked these videos and there's no blocks on any of them. I've also tried playing them on my iphone (the same setup as an ipad) with no issues. Hope you get to the bottom of it soon!

[@martinwalsh3228]

They should reopen all closed railway lines throughout Ireland sooner rather then later.

[@TheIrishMainline]

Unlikely Martin when they're doing their best to close whats already open!

[@martinwalsh3228]

Trains will cut down on traffic jams, road deaths & traffic jams if we had a better train service.

[@emeraldislevideography4484]

Nice Video !

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Interesting discovery, I've just been able to watch Liam Clancy's "Off the Beaten Track" by copying the link to offliberty.com - strange, but perfect! Keep up the good work. Paddy

[@TheIrishMainline]

+Paddy Wilkinson Yeah that allows you to download the vid to your computer. Works well for most vids but don't think you can download HD ones.

[@videothen]

I dearly wish countries (including my own, the U.S.) would come to their senses and start reopening lines like these. (at 16:02 - Kilmeaden's charter got eaten by a pig?? hilarious.)

[@TheIrishMainline]

This particular line, like many others in this country should never have closed. Sadly it's all to late now for most of them, including this one :/

[@videothen]

I'm not so sure. Google Earth shows most of the right-of-way still present; and if local residents' pressure along the Limerick - Ennis line could get it reopened, I'm hopeful for others.

[@TheIrishMainline]

You only have to look at the Western Rail Corridor though and see what a complete disaster that's been :/ Unless things pick up drastically there I can't see this line ever getting a look in. IÉ have other lines ahead of this in the pecking order anyway, most notably the Navan branch which should see a passenger service in the near future.

[@amelierenoncule]

Personally mon amour...As youngsters in Ireland, we always loved it when the trains passed by at a leisurely rate, as it provided us a great chance to bounce a few ripe tomatoes off some of the pork-pie-faced blokes who stuck their mugs out the window/door openings. Blimey, what fun. ESPECIALLY if they were holding a pint a' bitters that they then dropped! Ho-Ho-Ho!...as Monsieur Santa would say.

[@paddywilkinson8668]

EV, hello again, must be something to do with Safari, those episodes not available on this platform, though many of Irish Mainline are!

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Ev, thanks again, using Safari, wonder should I change it? The Bagenalstown Wexford episode is also not available, but some others are ok. Curious!

[@TheIrishMainline]

+Paddy Wilkinson Strange indeed. Try clearing your cookies (www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/safari.html) and temp internet files (click on “Safari” and select “Empty Cache”), login again and try playing the vid. I've always used chrome as my browser, might be worth trying it if those suggestions don't work.

[@TheIrishMainline]

+urbsintacta Thanks for watching m8! :)

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Has this episode been withdrawn? It's a really good programme!

[@TheIrishMainline]

+Paddy Wilkinson It hasn't Paddy no, are you unable to watch it?

[@reb0118]

What's left of this line today?

[@TheIrishMainline]

The Waterford - Kilmeaden section is now a narrow gauge heritage railway (www.wsvrailway.ie/), the rest of the line to Dungarvan was all lifted by 2003.

[@reb0118]

The Irish Mainline Thanks for that, What about the major structures such as viaducts and tunnels - are most still intact(ish)? The route looks like it would make a nice cycle track.

[@TheIrishMainline]

As far as I know they're all intact. The Kilmacthomas viaduct in particular is well worth a look, a magnificent work of engineering :)

[@jameslonergan10]

Fine head of hair on that Paddy Kennedy

[@Finnbar01]

When was this filmed?

[@TheIrishMainline]

I taped it in 1997 which was the first time it was broadcast so probably filmed around that time.

[@destig83]

Is this available on DVD?

[@TheIrishMainline]

Sadly not m8, there was only an accompanying book released at the time.

[@paddywilkinson8668]

Just one more comment, EV, another android device throws up the same message : this video is not available. Sorry for prolonged agony!

[@TheIrishMainline]

Just checked my iPhone again and in the playlist for this series it states 2 of the episodes (inc this one) is blocked on certain devices :( oi66.tinypic.com/1zxva0l.jpg Why KZbin are doing this I've no idea.

[@laurenceskinnerton73]

Reopen Irish railways!

[@noelraymond5599]

super photage