All aboard for rail travellers on night of nostalgia
The West Cork Hotel tracked down some of the passengers who travelled on the last train into Skibbereen on Good Friday, 1961, and invited them to a special function to mark the event’s 50th anniversary.
Hotel owner Tim Looney said he was inspired to organise the event by the hotel’s close links to the railway.
A recent extension to the hotel was built where the tracks used to run, and the hotel now owns the former railway bridge, which is used during functions.
He also drew inspiration from a photograph of the last train, taken by Michael Minihane, the father of Irish Examiner photographer, Denis, which hangs over the hotel bar: “I was always fascinated with it and I wondered if we could track down those people in the photograph.
“It was a great event and all those people are well and healthy, and their memories of the last train were fresh as ever.”
Among the guests were Jerome McCarthy who brought one of the train’s lampshades to the function, and Donie Davis, who brought a rail ticket with him dated August 1, 1960.
They and the others spent the evening sharing stories and memories before a DVD featuring footage of trains serving stations like Baltimore, Drimoleague, Dunmanway and Clonakilty was screened.
The Cork, Bandon and West Cork Railway ran from Albert Quay in Cork city to Bantry in the west, Baltimore in the south and Kinsale in the east.
The first train on the network ran on June 30, 1849, from Ballinhassig to Bandon — four months before the main Dublin to Cork rail line opened.
The Cork to Bandon line was built two years later — its section included a 900-yard tunnel at Goggin’s Hill, Ballinhassig, and the 440-ft long, 90-ft high Chetwynd Viaduct, which can still be seen today.
Line extensions to Kinsale and Dunmanway followed in 1863 and 1866. The line from Dunmanway to Skibbereen was built in 1877, with an extension to Schull in 1886 and to Baltimore in 1893 — a section which also boasts a magnificent viaduct.
However, despite a massive local campaign, CIE voted to close the railway after it accumulated losses of £56,000. It closed officially on March 31, 1961. The tracks were later sold to Nigeria.
Mr Davis said last week’s function was “a lovely night but sad too”.
“It was a night of mixed emotions. It’s a shame that they ever closed it. It would be a great tourist attraction today,” he said.
His family had close links to the railway for decades — three uncles and three first cousins worked on gate crossings, line inspection, station operatives and sleeper repairs.
He recalled fond memories of travelling by train to the Baltimore Regatta every year when up to four trains would be laid on for the huge event.
