Loughrea branch line

The Loughrea branch line was a railway line that opened in 1890 and closed in 1975. The 9 mile single track branch ran from the Attymon Junction on the Dublin to Galway main line and terminated at Loughrea. Dunsandle was the single intermediate stop. It was the last rural branch line to survive in Ireland.^[2]

Loughrea branch line
The 15:30 from Attymon Junction approaches Lynchfort level crossing near Loughrea on 10 October 1975
Overview
Other name(s)	Attymon & Loughrea Light Railway
Status	Ceased operation
Owner	Midland Great Western Railway Great Southern Railways Córas Iompair Éireann
Locale	County Galway, Ireland 53.26615°N 8.60452°W / 53.26615; -8.60452  (Dunsandle station line midpoint)
Termini	Attymon Junction Loughrea
Stations	3
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	Córas Iompair Éireann
Operator(s)	Midland Great Western Railway Great Southern Railways Córas Iompair Éireann
History
Opened	1890
Closed	1975
Technical
Line length	8 miles 75 chains (14.4 km)[1]
Number of tracks	Single track
Character	Secondary
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Irish gauge
Electrification	Not electrified
Route map v t e Loughrea branch line Legend Attymon Junction Dublin-Galway Main Line to Galway — to Athlone & Dublin Dunsandle Loughrea

History

The Loughrea and Attymon Light Railway company was formed on 24 April 1885 to construct the line. It opened on 1 December 1890 with an agreement in place for the Midland Great Western Railway to operate the line for the next 50 years.^[3] However, this arrangement did not run its full term as the line was absorbed into the new Great Southern Railways (GSR) from 1 January 1925. GSR was itself superseded by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) on 1 January 1945. The line was closed by CIÉ on 3 November 1975 and the track was lifted in 1988.^[1]

Rolling stock and services

Steam era

Pictures exist of 2-4-0 and 0-6-0 engines in use on the branch.

The branch had five round trip passenger services at its peak in 1895. Many would be mixed passenger and freight.^[2]

Dieselisation era

The branch was normally operated by a CIE 611 Class with a single passenger coach. When that locomotive was unavailable for servicing or maintenance a CIE 201 Class Metropolitan-Vickers or a CIE 141 Class would normally substitute. Exceptionally a CIE 001 Class could be used.^[4]