Clonsilla Station and its links to a Steam Powered Monorail… – Clonsilla & Porterstown Heritage Society

By Stephen Gray, Clonsilla and Porterstown Heritage Society

Clonsilla Railway Station opened on 1 September 1848, it was closed for goods traffic on 17 June 1963. The cast iron footbridge that is currently in place at Clonsilla was originally located at the former railway station in Listowel, County Kerry, and moved to Clonsilla. This paper will explore the history of the station, the level crossing, and the unique history of the footbridge and its links to North Kerry.

Clonsilla, on the extremity of Dublin’s western suburbs, was once an important location on the Midland Great Western Railway’s Dublin to Sligo line. Clonsilla was originally closed in 1947, but reopened in November 1981 with the introduction of the new commuter service to Maynooth, by which time most of the original station buildings had been demolished. The station is one of the original four Western Commuter stations which became part of the line on its inception in 1981, the others being Ashtown (opened January 1982), Leixlip Louisa Bridge and Maynooth. Clonsilla was also the junction of the 1862 built Dublin & Meath Railway line, which diverged just west of the station and headed north to Navan. Passenger services on the Navan line ceased in 1947, but the line remained in use for occasional goods traffic until 1963. However, on 2 September 2010, the original Dunboyne branch line reopened as the M3 Parkway commuter branch line, with a proposed reinstatement to Navan in the future. The junction is just to the west of Clonsilla station.

Clonsilla station underwent an upgrade in 2000 that saw the platforms lengthened and a new station building being constructed. In 2012, the station was further upgraded with a new footbridge and escalator, refurbished station building, new platform surfaces and construction of platform 3. Platform 3 is used for a shuttle train service between Clonsilla and M3 Parkway.

Clonsilla Station shown on map published by OSI, surveyed 1836.

Between Clonsilla and Leixlip Confey is what is left of the old Lucan North station (also known as Coldblow) which closed on 8 October 1941. All that remains of the station is a small red brick building on the bank between the tracks and the canal. This building was a waiting room. The station was opposite this but has become a private residence and has been extended and renovated.

The line between Clonsilla and Maynooth was re-doubled between 1999 & 2000, having been singled by the Great Southern Railway in 1929. This also brought about upgrading of the signalling and stations on the line, however due to the busy level crossing at Clonsilla; the vernacular signal cabin survives and still controls the crossing gates from a wheel in the signal cabin. The cabin is described as Detached single-bay two-storey signal box, c.1850, with timber superstructure on a red brick ground floor plinth. Cast-iron pedestrian bridge, c.1850, spanning railway track. ROOF: Double pitched slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and projecting eaves. Timber barge boards and finials. WALLS: Red brick ground floor on a brick plinth and tongue & groove timber first floor. OPENINGS: Square headed openings with side sliding timber framed windows; segmental headed window with brick reveals concrete cills; four paned timber casement window.

During the upgrading of the Maynooth line, and the redesign of Clonsilla Station, the original building including the footbridge as seen in the photo (below) from the National Library website were demolished, O’Dea, J. P. 1. p. (1938). Signal box, Clonsilla Junction, Co. Dublin.

The National Library of Ireland has catalogued and digitised photographs of the station and cabin, taken in 1938 Holdings: Signal box, Clonsilla Junction, Co. Dublin. (nli.ie); Holdings: T. Rooney & lad inside signal box, Clonsilla, Co. Dublin. (nli.ie); Holdings: T. Rooney & L. Glynn inside signal cabin, Clonsilla, Co. Dublin. (nli.ie)

During the early days of the Irish Free State, a group opposed to Eamon DeValera’s government believed that if they destroyed the communication systems the government could be brought down. The Clonsilla signal box, as part of the communications system, was burned down as part of this action. It was later rebuilt.

The footbridge that is currently at Clonsilla Station is of Great Southern & Western origin, and came from Listowel Station on the former Limerick to Tralee line in North Kerry.

Bridge in Clonsilla December 2024. Note it is raised on a concrete plinth, it did not stand on a raised plinth in it’s original location.

Listowel received its railway station in 1880. In 1963 the passenger service was withdrawn although occasional passenger special events continued to use the line. On 10th January 1977 the last freight train rolled along the line, through the Listowel station and under the footbridge. Campaigns were run to re-open the line while the infrastructure was being dismantled, and after many years of unsuccessful strife, the line was formally abandoned and lifted in 1988.

Listowel, where our footbridge originally stood, was the starting point for the unique steam monorail, the Listowel-Ballybunion Railway, which opened on 1st March 1888. It ran the ten miles between the two towns and was remarkable as the only railway of its type in the world. The monorail was invented and developed by a French Engineer named Charles Lartigue, hence the name Lartigue Monorail Way by which the line was best known. The Monorail exists today as a tourist attraction, and is fascinating to look at the pannier-like wagons slung on either side of a single rail, which was itself mounted on A-shaped trestles. Charles Lartigue got the inspiration for this design from watching camels serenely carrying large loads in panniers balanced either side of their backs while in Algeria.

British Pathe have documented and digitised footage of this unique rail in action at:https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/56933/.

Muckross House Research Library in Killarney, Co. Kerry (https://www.muckrosshouseresearchlibrary.ie/) have kindly shared photographs of the Clonsilla footbridge, and given permission for reproduction in these publication. These photos were taken in 1979 when the bridge was located at Listowel Station in Co. Kerry (52°26’59.3″N 9°29’18.4″W). Note the bridge without the concrete plinth.

The National Transport Authority has ambitious plans to upgrade the railway line from Dublin to Maynooth to an electrified DART line, known as DART+West. Hopefully the works carried out will be sympathetic to the existing vernacular buildings and infrastructure, and future travellers along the line and passing through Clonsilla Train Station will be able to wonder and romanticise about the times gone by.

Sources:

Various photographs of Clonsilla station, it’s buildings, including internal photos of the wheelhouse in a more modern setting can be viewed at:

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20C/Clonsilla/IrishRailwayStations.html