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 Lines owned and worked by DSER Separate undertakings of DSER[a] Dublin and Kingstown Railway (worked by DSER) Other[b] | |
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Westland Row station |
| Dates of operation | 10 July 1854–31 December 1924 |
| Predecessor | Dublin and Kingstown Railway Dalkey Atmospheric Railway |
| Successor | Great Southern Railways |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) |
| Length | 156 miles 1 chain (251.1 km) (1919)[1] |
| Track length | 218 miles 8 chains (351.0 km) (1919)[1] |
TheDublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as theSlow and Easy, was anIrish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911.[2] It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland operating a main line fromDublin toWexford, with branch lines toShillelagh andWaterford.[3]: 12 The company previously traded under the namesWaterford, Wexford, Wicklow & Dublin Railway (WWW&DR or 3WS) to 1848,Dublin and Wicklow Railway (D&WR) to 1860 andDublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (DW&WR) until 1906.[4]
The DSER joined with the Great Southern Railway on 1 January 1925, the resultant company being known asGreat Southern Railways.[3]: 13–14
It was incorporated byact of Parliament, theWaterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. ccviii) as the "Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin Railway Company".[4]: 20–21 In 1860 it was renamed the "Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company" and on 31 December 1906 it was renamed again as the Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER) by theDublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Act 1906 (6 Edw. 7. c. lxxxi). Amongst the lines forming the DSER was theDublin and Kingstown Railway, which was authorised by theDublin and Kingstown Railway Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will. 4. c. lxix) and opened in 1834 – the first public railway in Ireland. TheKingstown – Dalkey section was operated byatmospheric traction for a short while. The railway formed part of theRoyal Mail route betweenLondon andDublinviaDún Laoghaire railway station at Kingstown (nowDún Laoghaire).
The DSER was much affected by theIrish Civil War including 31 major incidents. When added to shortages and inflationary costs arising from and after theFirst World War the DSER found itself, in common with other railway companies in Ireland, in difficult financial and operational conditions.[3]: 11–14
A railway bill of 1924 attempted to amalgamate theGreat Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR),Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) and DSER into the Great Southern Railway whose networks were entirely within theIrish Free State. The DSER, being partBritish owned, stayed out of the merger which occurred on 12 November 1924, with a preference to merge with theGreat Northern Railway of Ireland (GNRI) which covered lines north from Dublin and throughout the North of Ireland. The DSER finally merged with the Great Southern Railway to form theGreat Southern Railways (GSR) on 1 January 1925.[3]: 11–14
TheDublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) was Ireland's first railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour in County Dublin. It was authorised by theDublin and Kingstown Railway Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will. 4. c. lxix), and the first part of the line running from Dublin to Kingstown Pier was opened on 17 December 1834, with an extension toKingstown (Dún Laoghaire station's current location) opened on 13 May 1837.
TheDalkey Atmospheric Railway was an extension of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway to Atmospheric Road in Dalkey in County Dublin. It was unofficially opened as far as Sandycove on 19 August 1843. The route from Sandycove to Dalkey (atmospheric station) was opened on 19 March 1844, in time for the official opening of the on 29 March 1844. It used part of the Dalkey Quarry industrial tramway, which was earlier used for the construction of Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) Harbour. It was the first railway of its type in the world.
The entity that became the DSER was incorporated by theWaterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. ccviii) as the "Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow and Dublin Railway Company",[4]: 20–21 with the name changing to Dublin and Wicklow Railway at the same time.[4]: 22 They leased theDublin and Kingstown Railway in 1854, converted it from4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) gauge to their5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge. The remainder of the line to Wexford was opened over the next 20 years in stages.
The first section of D&W line fromDundrum andDalkey toBray was opened on 10 July 1854. A continuous route from Dublin to Wicklow was established the following year, when the section from the Dublin and Kingston terminus at Dalkey (atmospheric station) to D&W's Dalkey station was opened on 10 October 1855, and the extension from Bray toWicklow (Murrough) opened 3 weeks later on 30 October. The line to Harcourt Road (laterHarcourt Street) became the main line while the line to Westland Row became the branch until it was double tracked in 1882 and became a second main line.Coastal erosion has been a problem on the route to Wicklow, forcing the opening of a deviation between Ballybrack and Bray on 1 October 1915, and numerous deviations between Bray and Wicklow.
It was renamed the "Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company" by theDublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (Enniscorthy Extension) Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. xlvii) in keeping with the southwards expansion of the railway.
The line was extended onward toEnniscorthy in the early 1860s, starting with the line from Wicklow Junction toRathdrum (Kilcommon), which opened on 20 August 1861. At this time the line from Wicklow Junction to the Murrough station was bypassed. It remained in use as a freight station and saw occasional passenger services. This was followed by further extensions toOvoca (Avoca) on 18 July 1863 and Enniscorthy on 16 November 1863 andbranch line to Shillelagh in 1865.
In the early 1870s the route was finally completed toWexford. The route from Enniscorthy to the original Wexford Station (Carcur) was opened on 17 August 1872. It was extended toWexford North, the current station, in August 1874.
A branch was opened toNew Ross in 1887. This left the main line at Macmine near Wexford. It was extended from New Ross toWaterford in 1904. This extension connected with theGreat Southern and Western Railway, which in turn connected with trains for the south of Ireland.
The City of Dublin Junction Railway was authorised by theDublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway (City of Dublin Junction Railways) Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. clxxxii), and opened on 1 May 1891. This connected the DW&W at Westland Row station withAmiens Street station in the north of the city.
The DSER had two main stations inDublin on separate lines;Westland Row (renamed Pearse Station in 1966) for thecoastal line and a terminus atHarcourt Street for theHarcourt Street line. It also owned the Marine Station Hotel at Bray and the Grand Central Hotel at Rathdrum, south of Wicklow.
The locomotive workshop for the DSER was theGrand Canal Street railway works, also known asThe Factory, a two-storey converteddistillery at Grand Canal Street,Dublin. With no lifting crane and poor workshop layout the works was increasingly stretched by larger locomotives and the shortages from theFirst World War and damages due to theIrish Civil War.[3]: 129–132
According to theRailway Year Book 1912,[2] the railway operated 60 locomotives, hauling 253 passenger coaches and 1,005 goods vehicles. The locomotives were painted black picked out with red bands and gold lines, while the passenger vehicles were crimson lake with gold lines.
One DSERsteam locomotive is preserved: a2-6-0 goods locomotiveNo. 15 (laterGreat Southern Railways No. 461) owned by theRailway Preservation Society of Ireland atWhitehead, County Antrim.
