The Clonmel to Thurles Railway line officially opened on this day in 1880. The line was 23 miles long and served Clonmel, Fethard, Farranaleen, Laffan’s Bridge, Horse and Jockey, and Thurles.
In 1865, the Southern Railway Company proposed constructing a line from Thurles to Clonmel and onto Dungarvan and Youghal. It was to be 92 miles long but was rejected by Parliament. However, a shortened version,Thurles to Clonmel was approved.
Work commenced on the line in 1866. The land between Laffansbridge and Horse and Jockey was very boggy and needed much drainage and in places heavy rock cuttings had to be made.
By 23 June 1879, three trains a day operated between Clonmel and Fethard, a twenty-minute trip. The full line was completed later that year with the official opening taking place on 1 July 1880 in the presence of government engineer Colonel Rich. For years the railway paid its way. During the summer, special trains operated to all the GAA fixtures in Thurles, and brought people to Tramore via Clonmel and Waterford.
During the winter months the line was exceptionally busy dueto the beet trains operating from Wexford to Thurles and special anthracite trains from the Ballingarry Collieries to New Ross and Waterford. Up to ten trains a day operated.
However, things began to change in the 1950s. Cattle were now transported by lorries and demand for anthracite declined. With more motorcars on the roads, the numbers travelling began to drop. Passenger traffic reduced to such an extent that it was not feasible to run a train.
The last passenger trains ran on the line on 7 September 1963. The Nationalist of 14 September 1963 reported that ‘Clonmel station, incommon with those along the line, was crowded on both occasions [departure and arrival of last trains].’ In Fethard, the last train ‘got a rousing send-off… While waiting for the train, the crowd was entertained by a selection of lively Irish airs, rendered on the accordion by Marty Roche, Kilsheelan’. The paper also reported that a Mrs Nugent bought the last ticket at the Fethard station and had it signed by Mr. Patrick Ryan, station master. As the train pulled out of Fethard for the last time, ‘quite a few moist eyes were to be seen amongst the crowd.’
The line stayed open for freight trains for a further four years until it finally closed for good on 25 March 1967. It was in existence for almost 90 years.
Sources:
Fethard and Killusty Newsletter 2005, pp 17-19
Clonmel: An Architectural Guide, S.J Watson and ElizabethShee (1992), p15.
The Nationalist, 10/09/1983, p17.
The Nationalist, 14/09/1963, p13.
Waterford News and Star, 02/07/1880, p3.
