Starting Point - Kilmeaden Station. Finishing Point - Waterford Plunkett Station. Distance 6.8 Miles
The former Waterford, Dungarvan and Lismore line has been turned in to a greenway from Waterford to Dungarvan. At 46 Km this was a bit much for the time I had in the area, however I combined walking the stretch from Kilmeaden to Waterford with a visit to the 3ft gauge Waterford & Suir Valley Railway which is working towards reopening much of this section as a heritage railway alongside the greenway.
At the time of writing the W&SVR was operating trains on a 12 Km round trip east from Kilmeaden, though with no facilities to board or alight the train other than at Kilmeaden in use. Starting at Waterford was made possible by the 609 Suirway bus from outside the bus station in Waterford to the entrance to the railway. Though it is an infrequent service there was one arriving in plenty of time for the first train of the day.
The route closed in 1967 with part of the route remaining in use until 1987 for freight, maintenance on the route countinued until 1990. More information about the route can be found on the Wikipedia page.
After a ride on the train we retraced the route we had taken on the train on foot along the greenway, occasionally being passed by subsequent trains until passing the point at which the train had turned back.
Below - The W&SVR train arriving in to Kilmeaden station from the shed.
Below - Looking east from the station at Kilmeaden the railway passes under the R680.
Below - The railway then passes under a farm access bridge. The narrow gauge of the heritage railway allows it to share the single track trackbed with the greenway on the former 5'3" gauge route.
Below - As the railway follows the River Suir there are several bridges taking the railway over streams feeding in to the river. The broad gauge sleepers can be seen on this one. The greenway has been added on a new bridge alongside. In the background the ruins of Kilmeaden Castle can be seen.
Below - What was presumably a track workers hut carved in to the rock of the cutting side.
Below - The next W&SVR train passes us as the railway skirts the river.
Below - A former quarry alongside the railway with a lime kiln on the right.
Below - A platform has been built at Mount Congreave Gardens to serve this tourist attraction, though it was not in use at the time of our visit.
Below - Railway and greenway cross another stream entering the river.
Below - A more substantial set of lime kilns.
Below - The train passing again close to Carriganore where the train turned back to Kilmeaden.
Below - Semaphore signal at Carriganore, the point where the train turned back.
Below - The Dan Donovan tunnel, named after the man who supervised the laying of the narrow gauge track. The railway does a bit of a dog leg to pass under the bypass which was built after the broad gauge line closed.
Below - Another signal marking the site of Gracedieu Junction. Here a line crossing the River Suir to connect with the main station in Waterford was added in 1906 and the line on the south side of the river was relegated to goods traffic only. The line to the bridge over the river left on the left and is now hidden in the trees. Looking in the trees the trackbed could be seen in a cutting descending towards the bridge while the line to Waterford South gained height.
Below - looking across the river the metal bridge linking the line to the railway in to Waterford's main station on the other side of the river can be seen. Since closure one of the central spans has been removed.
Below - At Bilberry a platform has been built as an eventual terminus of the W&SVR alongside a car and coach park built to also serve the greenway. Road access to the car and coach park were being improved at the time of our visit.
Below - Looking across the river from Bilberry the missing section of the river bridge can be seen stored next to the railway line. Presumably it was retained in case the railway were reopened at a later date.
Below - Continuing through the construction site for the improved road links to the greenway we pass the area of wasteland that was once the site of Waterford South station. The gateway of the former station site could still be seen.
More information about Waterford South Station can be seen on the Ask About Ireland page.
We continued over the river on the Rice Bridge in the centre of town to the main Waterford Plunkett station. The station is a shadow of its former self used only by Dublin trains and the infrequent Limerick services with just one bay platform in regular use.
Below - One of the most interesting features at Waterford's station is this elevated signal box, now no longer in use.
Below - West of the station the goods yard still sees some traffic, by holding the camera over a wall along the R448 this log train could be seen.
Hopefully at some point I'll get back to the area to further explore the Waterford Greenway. The section from Kilmacthomas to Dungarvan looks to be the best part of the route for engineering works with several viaducts and tunnels.
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