Midland Great Western Railway
Introduction
One of the historical main railway companies in Ireland, usually styled ^The Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland^. Lines radiated west and north west from Dublin Broadstone.
Dates
| / /1845 | Midland Great Western Railway Incorporated. Act for line from Dublin Broadstone to Mullingar and Athlone [MGWR], and purchase the Royal Canal and its hotels. |
| / /1847 | Midland Great Western Railway Portion authorised from Mullingar to Athlone [MGWR] and Galway. |
| 28/06/1847 | Midland Great Western Railway Dublin Broadstone to Enfield [Dublin] opened. Engineer G W Hemans. Contractor William Jeffs. |
| 06/12/1847 | Midland Great Western Railway Extended from Enfield [Dublin] to Hill of Down. |
| 02/10/1848 | Midland Great Western Railway Extended from Hill of Down to Mullingar. |
| / /1849 | Midland Great Western Railway Dublin Broadstone to Enfield [Ireland] and Hill of Down to Killucan doubled. |
| /07/1849 | Midland Great Western Railway Construction of Mullingar to Athlone [MGWR] and Galway begins. Contractor William Dargan. |
| / /1850 | Midland Great Western Railway Killucan to Mullingar doubled. |
| / /1851 | Midland Great Western Railway Enfield [Ireland] to Hill of Down doubled. |
| / /1851 | Midland Great Western Railway Ballinasloe to Athlone [MGWR] and Oranmore to Galway doubled. |
| / /1851 | Midland Great Western Railway Builds the Railway Hotel in Galway (now The Hardiman). The hotel was leased to operators. |
| 01/08/1851 | Midland Great Western Railway Extended from Mullingar to Athlone [MGWR] and Galway. Double as far as Streamstown. |
| / /1852 | Midland Great Western Railway Doubled from Streamstown to Athlone [MGWR]. |
| / /1857 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Authorised. |
| / /1858 | Midland Great Western Railway Goods branch to Galway Docks opened. |
| / /1859 | Chester and Holyhead Railway
North Wall Extension (Midland and Great Western Railway) London and North Western Railway steamers from Holyhead serve Dublin North Wall, where the LNWR opens a station and sidings connected to the Midland Great Western Railway line, the station located just east of Dublin North Wall Goods. |
| / /1860 | Athlone Branch (Great Southern and Western Railway) Connection to Midland Great Western Railway between Athlone [MGWR] and Athlone installed. |
| / /1860 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Attempt to abandon powers to build line. |
| 29/08/1862 | Dublin and Meath Railway Opened from Consilla (Midland Great Western Railway) to a temporary Navan [DMR] terminus. After earlier consideration of an independent Dublin station, access was granted to Dublin Broadstone. Contractor Moore Brothers. |
| / /1863 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Line opened from Streamstown (Midland Great Western Railway) to Clara [MGWR] and a connection to the Great Southern and Western Railway. |
| 01/06/1869 | Dublin and Meath Railway Midland Great Western Railway takes over the working of the Meath line. |
| /10/1869 | Dublin and Meath Railway Midland Great Western Railway cuts Kells service cut back to Navan [DMR] . |
| 01/11/1875 | Navan and Kingscourt Railway Completed to Kingscourt. Worked by the Midland Great Western Railway. |
| / /1877 | Sligo and Ballaghadereen Junction Railway Absorbed by Midland Great Western Railway. |
| / /1877 | Edenderry Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Branch opened from Nesbitt Junction to Edenderry. Contractor Bagnell. |
| 01/12/1877 | Dublin North Wall London and North Western Railway First served by Great Northern Railway [Ireland] (ex Dublin and Drogheda Railway) and Midland Great Western Railway passenger trains. |
| / /1879 | Midland Great Western Railway Broadstone Works commences building locomotives. |
| / /1888 | Dublin and Meath Railway Absorbed by Midland Great Western Railway. (Or 1889?) |
| / /1888 | Navan and Kingscourt Railway Absorbed by Midland Great Western Railway. |
| / /1890 | Great Northern and Western Railway Absorbed by Midland Great Western Railway. |
| / /1890 | Midland Great Western Railway Loch Atalia Viaduct, Galway, swing span fixed in position. |
| / /1890 | Loughrea and Attymon Light Railway Opened from Attymon (Midland Great Western Railway) to Loughrea. |
| / /1891 | Midland Great Western Railway Increasing traffic leads to decreasing the lengths of sections with the addition of five extra signal cabins, including 34th, 39th and 46th, named for the distance from Dublin. |
| / /1894 | Drumcondra and North Dublin Link Railway Act for a line between Drumcondra Junction and Church Road Junction, and a curve from North Strand Junction to Dublin Amiens Street. This line follows an easier gradient than the parallel Dublin North Wall Extension (Midland Great Western Railway). |
| / /1895 | Clifden Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Opened from Galway to Oughterard, the first part of the Connemara Railway. |
| / /1895 | Clifden Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Extended from Oughterard to Clifden. |
| / /1902 | Clifden Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Recess Hotel opened to serve the railway company hotel (acquired 1895, rebuilt 1898). |
| / /1911 | Edenderry Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Served by a slip coach. |
| / /1912 | Midland Great Western Railway Attymon Junction to Athenry doubled. |
| / /1922 | Clifden Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Recess Hotel closed with burning down of the railway owned hotel by Republicans during the Civil War, preventing its use by the Free State Army. |
| / /1924 | Bantry Bay Extension Railway
Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway
Great Southern and Western Railway
Midland Great Western Railway Absorbed by Great Southern Railway. |
| / /1925 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway)
Clara and Banagher Railway Great Southern Railways - Clara exchange platforms closed, service altered so a single engine could serve both lines. |
| / /1926 | Midland Great Western Railway Oranmore to Galway singled. |
| / /1927 | Midland Great Western Railway Broadstone Works ceases building locomotives, having built 132 steam locomotives. |
| / /1927 | Midland Great Western Railway Attymon Junction to Athenry singled. |
| / /1928 | Midland Great Western Railway Ballinasloe to Athlone [MGWR] singled. |
| / /1929 | Midland Great Western Railway Mulligar to Killucan singled. |
| / /1929 | Midland Great Western Railway Athlone [MGWR] to Mullingar singled. |
| 01/10/1929 | Midland Great Western Railway Meath and Cavan train diverted from Dublin Broadstone to Dublin Amiens Street. |
| / /1930 | Midland Great Western Railway Killucan to Consilla singled. Nesbitt Junction to Consilla becomes two parallel single track lines - the main line and Edenderry branch. |
| / /1931 | Edenderry Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Closed to passengers. Remains open to excursions and goods. |
| / /1932 | Edenderry Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Closed to goods, with the exception of cattle trains. |
| / /1933 | Midland Great Western Railway Broadstone Works ceases maintaining locomotives and is closed. Transferred to the road services division of the railway. |
| 27/04/1935 | Clifden Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Line closed. The Great Southern Railways particularly cited the increase in road competition. |
| 22/11/1936 | Midland Great Western Railway
Drumcondra and North Dublin Link Railway New link installed at Glasnevin reversing the previous connection. This allows access to North Strand Junction from the Liffey Junction direction. |
| 18/01/1937 | Midland Great Western Railway Dublin Broadstone closed to passengers. |
| / /1941 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Closed to most trains. |
| / /1944 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Goods withdrawn. |
| / /1945 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Goods restart. |
| / /1946 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Passenger trains restart. |
| / /1947 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Scheduled trains withdrawn. |
| / /1960 | Midland Great Western Railway Galway Docks goods branch closed. |
| / /1963 | Edenderry Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Closed. |
| / /1965 | Clara Branch (Midland Great Western Railway) Closed. |
| 10/04/1966 | Midland Great Western Railway Galway renamed Galway Ceannt to honour Éamonn Ceannt, one of the leaders in the 1916 Easter Rising who was subsequently executed. |
| / /1973 | Midland Great Western Railway Galway and Mayo trains cease using the Athlone [MGWR] to Mullingar section, diverted to the Athlone Branch (Great Southern and Western Railway). |
| 14/01/1985 | Midland Great Western Railway Athlone [MGWR] closed with the re-opening of Athlone (Great Southern and Western Railway). |
| / /1987 | Midland Great Western Railway Regular Athlone [MGWR] to Mullingar trains cease. |
Portions of line and locations
This line is divided into a number of portions.
Dublin to Mullingar
Looking east over Liffey Junction from a Sligo train in 1993. To the right is the former main line to the Midland Great Western Railway^s Broadstone ...Bill Roberton //1993
A Maynooth to Dublin (Pearse) DMU awaits its departure time at Coolmine station, Co Dublin, on 18 January 2014. ...John Steven 18/01/2014
The 1830 Dublin Connolly to Sligo train about to restart from Mullingar, County Westmeath, in July 1993. ...David Panton /07/1993
Mullingar to Galway
The 1830 Dublin Connolly to Sligo train about to restart from Mullingar, County Westmeath, in July 1993. ...David Panton /07/1993
Level crossing and signal box at Athenry on the Dublin - Galway main line on a rainy day in 1988. ...Bill Roberton //1988
Athenry station, looking east towards Athlone and Dublin, on 26th May 2019....
Mark Poustie 26/05/2019
Athenry station. The Sundays only 11.55 from Galway Ceannt to Limerick Junction has just arrived and is waiting to reverse onto the line to Ennis and ...Mark Poustie 26/05/2019
Approaching Oranmore, County Galway, past the former goods facilities in 1988. The station, located between Galway and Athenry, closed in 1963 but is ...Bill Roberton //1988
The afternoon train from Dublin overtakes a jogger (or vice versa?) on the approach to Galway station in 1991. ...Bill Roberton //1991
Galway Ceannt Station on 26th May 2019. The Sundays only 11.55 to Limerick Junction awaits departure from Platform 2. ...
Mark Poustie 26/05/2019
View from the 11.55 to Limerick Junction departing from Galway Ceannt station. From the left, surviving engine shed, water column, turntable behind ...Mark Poustie 25/05/2019
Galway Ceannt station, and a surviving water tower, seen on 25th May 2019....
Mark Poustie 25/05/2019
