Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
formerly had numerous
narrow-gauge railways
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
, most of which were built to a gauge of . The last (non-preserved) line to close was the
West Clare Railway
The West Clare Railway (WCR) originally operated in County Clare, Ireland, between 1887 and 1961. This narrow-gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush a ...
in 1961 (though it has been partially preserved).
railways
Northern Ireland
Operating
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Foyle Valley Railway
Foyle Valley Railway Museum is a museum in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is run by the charity Destined and is dedicated to the history of narrow gauge railways in the surrounding area. A heritage railway named Foyle Valley Railway previously ran ...
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Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway
Defunct
File:Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway.2.jpg, A Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway station.
File:Dunluce Castle & Giant's Causeway Tram.jpg, The defunct Giant's Causeway Tramway near Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle (; ) is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland, the seat of Clan MacDonnell. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim (between Portballintrae and Portrush), and is accessible via a bridge conn ...
c. 1890.
Republic of Ireland
Operating
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Cavan and Leitrim Railway
The Cavan and Leitrim Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated in the south of County Leitrim and the north-west of County Cavan on the northern edge of the Midlands in Ireland; it ran from 1887 until 1959.
Unusually for Ireland, this ...
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Fintown Railway
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Stradbally Woodland Railway
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Tralee and Dingle Light Railway
__NOTOC__
The Tralee and Dingle Light Railway and Tramway was a , narrow gauge railway running between Tralee and Dingle, with a branch from Castlegregory Junction to Castlegregory, in County Kerry on the west coast of Ireland. It operated bet ...
(Under repair)
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Waterford and Suir Valley Railway
Waterford Suir Valley Railway (WSVR) is a registered charity operating on a track gauge, gauge railway track from Kilmeadan back towards Bilberry outside Waterford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The line shares much of its route along the banks ...
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West Clare Railway
The West Clare Railway (WCR) originally operated in County Clare, Ireland, between 1887 and 1961. This narrow-gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush a ...
*Note: The peat processing State enterprise,
Bord na Mona
Cucerdea (, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bord (''Bord''), Cucerdea, and Șeulia de Mureș (''Oláhsályi'').
The commune is located in the southwestern part of ...
, also operated narrow-gauge industrial (staff-only) railways on multiple bogs, and some may still be extant.
Defunct
File:WCR Moyasta station.jpg, The ''Slieve Callan'' locomotive stopped at a station on the West Clare Railway
The West Clare Railway (WCR) originally operated in County Clare, Ireland, between 1887 and 1961. This narrow-gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush a ...
.
File:Post No Bills.jpg, Passengers riding on the defunct Galway and Salthill Tramway c. 1910.
gauge railways
Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company
The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company operated a passenger tramway service in Cork (city), Cork between 1898 and 1931.
History Origins
The Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company was a subsidiary of British Thomson-Houston, a ma ...
; opened 1898, closed 1931
gauge railways
Dublin and Lucan Electric Railway; opened 1900, closed 1925
gauge railways
Steam Train Express (located in the
Emerald Park (formerly Tayto Park) theme park); opened 2015 (operating)
gauge railways
The
St James's Gate Brewery narrow-gauge tramway, constructed 1873, closed 1975
gauge railways
Northern Ireland
Bellevue Park Railway (located in
Bellevue Park); opened 1933, closed 1950 (defunct - park still operating)
Republic of Ireland
Difflin Lake Railway (located in
Oakfield Park); opened 2003 (operating)
Monorails
Listowel and Ballybunion Railway; opened 1888, closed 1924; partially preserved
See also
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History of rail transport in Ireland
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of History of rail transport in Great Britain, Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half ...
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List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland
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List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland
There are a small number of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland, reflecting Ireland's long history of rail transport. Some former operations have closed, and aspirant operations may have museums and even rolling stock, but no operating ...
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British narrow-gauge railways
There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge rail ...
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Donegal Railway Heritage Centre
References
{{Europe in topic, Narrow-gauge railways in
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Narrow gauge railways
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...
Ireland, narrow