Bord na Mona's unnoticed system
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 2:59 pm
Hi all,
Am I just looking in the wrong place or is Bord na Mona's massive 3' gauge industrial network almost unmentioned on the internet and in books?
My family on my mothers side all came from Ireland and so most years we would travel over to Ireland and stay with my grandma near Ballinasloe in galway.
The first time I remember seeing the railway was when me and my mum walked down the road to a 3' gauge railway crossing on a line which I was sure must have been abandoned because the track look almost totally impassable. However after waiting for a wile a train appeared in the distance and rumbled past. It was a hunslet wagonmaster pulling around 16 large aluminium peat wagons.
Since then I have been over many times with dad and the car so have been able to get a better picture of the system around Shannonbridge power station, but even that was only one to the power station and briquettes factory's served by the railway network.
It has always surprised me that so few people seem to take an interest in what is probably the largest industrial railway networks in Europe particularly as it is only a short distance from the UK. It may have something to do with the lack of steam locos (there only ever being 3 on the network) but still it seems odd that every one I have asked about the railway say the have only ever heard about it briefly or have not heard about it at all.
I would love to have a go at modeling some of the rolling stock but I'm having trouble finding plans on the internet or in books. I did find this: http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/22/Wagonmaster.htm which give plans for the Wagonmaster but thats it.
There are some websites such as http://www.heartland.ie/equipment but if anyone could find anything else that would be very helpful.
I made a video of one holiday to Ireland along time ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neig1KEAHRU
Here are a few pics I got on my last holiday
Thanks
Am I just looking in the wrong place or is Bord na Mona's massive 3' gauge industrial network almost unmentioned on the internet and in books?
My family on my mothers side all came from Ireland and so most years we would travel over to Ireland and stay with my grandma near Ballinasloe in galway.
The first time I remember seeing the railway was when me and my mum walked down the road to a 3' gauge railway crossing on a line which I was sure must have been abandoned because the track look almost totally impassable. However after waiting for a wile a train appeared in the distance and rumbled past. It was a hunslet wagonmaster pulling around 16 large aluminium peat wagons.
Since then I have been over many times with dad and the car so have been able to get a better picture of the system around Shannonbridge power station, but even that was only one to the power station and briquettes factory's served by the railway network.
It has always surprised me that so few people seem to take an interest in what is probably the largest industrial railway networks in Europe particularly as it is only a short distance from the UK. It may have something to do with the lack of steam locos (there only ever being 3 on the network) but still it seems odd that every one I have asked about the railway say the have only ever heard about it briefly or have not heard about it at all.
I would love to have a go at modeling some of the rolling stock but I'm having trouble finding plans on the internet or in books. I did find this: http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/22/Wagonmaster.htm which give plans for the Wagonmaster but thats it.
There are some websites such as http://www.heartland.ie/equipment but if anyone could find anything else that would be very helpful.
I made a video of one holiday to Ireland along time ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neig1KEAHRU
Here are a few pics I got on my last holiday
Thanks
. 