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Irish Railways: A New History
The first passenger railway in Ireland, the Dublin & Kingstown, opened for business in 1834. From modest beginnings, the railway network expanded over the next 70 years into almost every part of the country. At its greatest extent, the national network consisted of just under 3,500 route miles of track. This era of expansion was followed by an equally long period of decline which was sparked by the partition of the country, the inexorable rise of the internal combustion engine and the economic problems of the interwar years. It was only towards the end of the twentieth century that the fortunes of the railways at last began to recover. Irish Railways, written by one of the leading historians of Ireland's railways, provides many insights into the social and economic effects of the railways. This is a story rich in human interest, a tale of triumph and tragedy, superb achievement and monumental incompetence, which will appeal to all who have even a passing interest in this most romantic of human inventions.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 12, 2026
After being really let down by The Trains Long Departed, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Tom Ferris’ other historical retrospective of trains in Ireland. I’m delighted to say that I had a much better experience with this book, which operates as a very well-done starting point for anyone interested in this aspect of Irish history.
Whereas some of the other books have looked at one or another particular slice of the story of Irish railways, this book sets out the whole combined story of all the various promotions and enterprises in a sort of sweeping tale of periods of growth, peak, decline, and resurrection. It’s very refreshing to have many of the details and events and points of information which are alluded to in other sources as background put into a singular chronological context. It’s not as in depth as something like The Bray and Enniskerry Railway, but its bigger scope makes it more permissible to not go into the same kind of granular detail.
The chronological structure combined with the number of different lines being discussed does make for some issues with how this book reads in terms of its occasional feeling of repetition. This book profiles each line across each period of history, which given the systemic nature of many of the problems faced by the lines (lack of funding, lack of parliamentary approval, lack of usage) means that once you’ve read about two or three, to some degree you’ve read about them all. The author does admit that the reader on occasion “is likely familiar by this point with what happens next” at various points, and it is worthwhile to have a thorough and exhaustive record of how each line developed from the top of the country to the bottom, however it does mean that certain sections drag as the author recapitulates the same details without much variety.
This is not necessarily his fault, but without more individualised commentary it does drag, especially for a book that otherwise works so well as an introductory text. That notwithstanding, though, many of the issues I had with the prose of Trains Long Departed are fixed, and overall I did enjoy reading several of the broader-scope sections where the author reflects on bigger historical trends and circumstances.
In hindsight, this is the book I should have started with, and it is absolutely a book I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in this area but is unfamiliar, with my only proviso being its occasional feeling of repetitiveness. Many stories, like that of how Ireland got its gauge or of the rivalry between GSWR and MGWR or how Dublin stations gradually linked dozens of independent lines, were genuine standouts that made me glad I waded through the paint-by-numbers midsection.
Whereas some of the other books have looked at one or another particular slice of the story of Irish railways, this book sets out the whole combined story of all the various promotions and enterprises in a sort of sweeping tale of periods of growth, peak, decline, and resurrection. It’s very refreshing to have many of the details and events and points of information which are alluded to in other sources as background put into a singular chronological context. It’s not as in depth as something like The Bray and Enniskerry Railway, but its bigger scope makes it more permissible to not go into the same kind of granular detail.
The chronological structure combined with the number of different lines being discussed does make for some issues with how this book reads in terms of its occasional feeling of repetition. This book profiles each line across each period of history, which given the systemic nature of many of the problems faced by the lines (lack of funding, lack of parliamentary approval, lack of usage) means that once you’ve read about two or three, to some degree you’ve read about them all. The author does admit that the reader on occasion “is likely familiar by this point with what happens next” at various points, and it is worthwhile to have a thorough and exhaustive record of how each line developed from the top of the country to the bottom, however it does mean that certain sections drag as the author recapitulates the same details without much variety.
This is not necessarily his fault, but without more individualised commentary it does drag, especially for a book that otherwise works so well as an introductory text. That notwithstanding, though, many of the issues I had with the prose of Trains Long Departed are fixed, and overall I did enjoy reading several of the broader-scope sections where the author reflects on bigger historical trends and circumstances.
In hindsight, this is the book I should have started with, and it is absolutely a book I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in this area but is unfamiliar, with my only proviso being its occasional feeling of repetitiveness. Many stories, like that of how Ireland got its gauge or of the rivalry between GSWR and MGWR or how Dublin stations gradually linked dozens of independent lines, were genuine standouts that made me glad I waded through the paint-by-numbers midsection.
December 21, 2023
It does what it says on the jacket - but not very well. Far too much of the text is given over to the approval and cost of each stretch of railway- and given that there were an awful lot of narrow gauge railways spread across the west of Ireland each of which is treated separately, this amounts to a lot of the book. In contrast, there's virtually nothing on the operation of the railways. No schedules to see whether the investment in new locomotives and rolling stock was shortening journey times and precious little on the experiences of passengers on the service.
Ferris saves his most vicious venom for the Ulster Transport Authority which authorised the closure of much of the railway system of Northern Ireland on the grounds that it was uneconomic to operate. Rightly or wrongly, this was the political thinking of the time and he offers no alternative plan that might have saved some of the system there.
Overall, very disappointing
Ferris saves his most vicious venom for the Ulster Transport Authority which authorised the closure of much of the railway system of Northern Ireland on the grounds that it was uneconomic to operate. Rightly or wrongly, this was the political thinking of the time and he offers no alternative plan that might have saved some of the system there.
Overall, very disappointing
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews