Dublin Railway Stations

An explore of old railway stations around Dublin using the Luas tram network

Dublin once had a few more terminus stations than it does today. Rather than walking on this old railway explore though I was able to let the tram do most of the work as there are now tram stops at the former stations. There is a handy day ticket available from the ticket machines on the Luas network, ideal for a bit of an explore.

Below -  Railway Clearing House map from Wikipedia 

Dublin Tram and Train Map

Rail Map Online view

Dublin's surviving stations are interesting as they are largely as they were built in the Victorian era where as most major UK stations of that era were extensively rebuilt for later expansion. It was for this reason that Dublin Heuston was chosen to portray 1850s London Bridge in the Sean Connery film The First Great Train Robbery.

Dublin Heuston

Dublin Heuston opened in 1846 as Dublin Kingsbridge station, named after the nearby bridge over the River Liffey.  It was renamed in 1966 after Sean Heuston who was executed after the 1916 Easter Rising. The office block on the station front to this day contains the head offices of Ireland's railway company CIE.

More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia page.

Below - Luas Red Line tram crossing the Liffey in front of Heuston station.

Below - The administration block in front of Heuston station.

Below - A loco hauled train for Cork under the station roof.

Dublin Connelly

Originally opened in 1844 as Dublin Station it was renamed Dublin Amiens Street in 1854. The original station was the four bay platforms. The through platforms were added in 1891 as the then separate Amiens Street Junction station. The through platforms linked the station to the former Westland Row terminus, now Dublin Pearse. Amiens Street station was renamed in 1966 after James Connolly who was executed following the Easter Rising in 1916. Though most passengers enter through the modernised entrance that incorporates the tram stop at the south of the station site the original facade on Amiens Street survives. More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia page.

Below - The facade on Amiens Street.

Dublin North Wall

Taking the Luas Red Line tram to Spencer Dock it's a short walk to North Wall Quay. The ferries to and from Holyhead and Liverpool now dock much further out on the deeper water at the mouth of the Liffey, however they used to dock much closer to the city. England's London and North Western Railway built a terminus at North Wall for trains connecting with ferries to and from England. Though this station closed in 1922 most of the buildings are still in place.

More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia page.

Below - Plan of North Wall station from Wikipedia.

Below - The former L&NWR North Wall station facade.

Below - The former Station Hotel

Below - The former goods warehouse adjoining the station.

Dublin Docklands

Not far north of the former North Wall station a new station was opened on the site of former goods sidings in 2007 to serve the regenerated Docklands area. At the time of writing services operate to M3 Parkway station on the closed Navan line, the intention is to reopen the line to Navan. Interchange with routes from Connolly station can be made at Broombridge, though Connolly is a short walk from Docklands.

More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia page.

Below - Docklands station.

Broombridge is at the site of the former Liffey Junction station between the Midland Great Western Railway's passenger line to its Broadstone station and its goods line to the docks (now used by passenger trains to reach Connolly or Docklands stations.) The railway trackbed is now used by the Luas Green Line. At the site of Broadstone station the tram line runs alongside the former station site before curving on to the roads at the front of the station with Broadstone DIT tram stop alongside the former station entrance.

Dublin Broadstone

The station opened in 1847 and closed in 1937 with services diverted to the more centrally located stations. It remained in use until 1961 as a loco depot. The station site is now occupied by Bus Eireann with th office block that housed the MGWR head offices now serving as the bus company's head quarters. CIE proposed reopening the station in 2007 but with the tram proposals also on the table the new Docklands station was chosen instead.

More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia page.

Below - A Luas Green Line tram stops at Broadstone DIT station beneath the office block of the original terminus.

Below - Adjacent to the station site which now forms Bus Eireann's depot and offices, former goods shed buildings are now used as another bus depot for the local Dublin Bus operations.

Below - The office block on the former Broadstone terminus. The entrance was just for the offices, passengers accessed via a collonade on the east side (right)

From Broadstone the Luas Green Line tram runs through the streets to Harcourt Street. This was once the site of a terminus station of a line to Bray. Again the tram stop is located on the road in front of the former station building.

Dublin Harcourt Street 

There were two routes from Dublin to Bray, the coastal route that survives to this day and a more inland route to Harcourt Street. The trackbed of the inland route is now part of the Luas Green Line from Charlemont station on the River Liffey just south of the former Harcourt Street station to Carrickmines. The tram continues to Brides Glen close to the original rail route. Brides Glen is not far north of Shankill where the line met the coastal route to Bray. The former Harcourt Street station survives in use as bars and restaurants.

More information can be found about the station on the Wikipedia page.

Below - Facade of the former Harcourt Street station.

Below - Luas Green Line tram at the stop next to the former station.

At the back of the station site it can be seen in the gap between the former station and adjacent offices that the station is on an the arches of a viaduct.

The remainder of the Luas day ticket was then used for finding food and drink and returning to the accommodation.