Connemara Railway welcomes its first Irish standard gauge coach
THE Connemara Railway Project has welcomed its first Irish standard gauge carriage to its Maam Cross station headquarters in the shape of Great Southern & Western Railway bogie corridor coach No. 813.
The carriage was built by the railway in 1903 and ran in service until 1964, surviving, then, as part of the Inchicore Works’ breakdown train, providing crew accommodation.
The coach was then acquired by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland and had been stored since the early 1970s in Mullingar locomotive shed, which has now been redeveloped, leading to rolling stock stored there having to find new homes.
Connemara Railway Project chairman Jim Deegan said: “We are very pleased to have been able to acquire this historic coach from the RPSI. It represents a major step forward in our rolling stock acquisition programme to allow us to operate heritage trains in due course at Maam Cross, using authentic coaches and locomotives.
“The coach is basically sound but it will clearly be a major restoration project for us.”
No. 813’s arrival coincides with an extension of the 5ft 3in gauge track laid at the station site, with further track laying planned for over the winter.