October 2024 marks the 170th anniversary of the establishment of a junction at Portarlington station, one which is of major importance in Ireland’s railway network today, serving as the connection between the Dublin-Cork line and the routes to Galway and Mayo. However, it wasn’t always the case, as this article shall explore.
A rather busy looking Portarlington station in the days of the Great Southern & Western Railway.
Portarlington Station Before The Junction
Portarlington station opened in June 1847, when the Great Southern & Western Railway extended their line from Cherryville Junction (where their first line, to Carlow, diverged) to Maryborough (now known as Portlaoise), with Portarlington being an intermediate station along this extension. The line would eventually reach the outskirts of Cork in 1849. Like many of the stations on the line, the main building, which survives to this day, was designed by the architect Sancton Wood, and the family resemblance between Portarlington and other GSWR stations such as Portlaoise is quite evident. At one point a restaurant operated at the station but this has long since closed. In the early days trains would stop at the station so passengers could obtain refreshments. A large water tower was located on the down (Cork-bound) side.
Portarlington Becomes a Junction
Portarlington became a junction station in October 1854, when the Great Southern & Western opened a branch to Tullamore. This in turn would be extended to Athlone in 1859. With the company’s ambitions of reaching Galway (the original impetus for the branch) long evaporated, the branch didn’t have quite the same importance as it does today, with a comparatively sparse service being operated between Portarlington and Athlone which generally connected into Cork trains at the former. A turntable was located at the Dublin end on the downside and used by engines on the branch, which were generally small tender engines. There was also a siding known as the 'Tullamore Road' which was used for storing the vehicles for the branch train. However, there was never a locomotive shed here.
In November 1924 the GSWR became part of the new Great Southern Railway company, which would become expanded into the Great Southern Railways (plural) from January 1925. This had no major repercussions for Portarlington itself. The branch to Athlone continued to lead a quiet existence. In 1945, the GSR was merged with the Dublin United Tramways Company to form Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the Irish Transport Company. The GSR and CIÉ era would also see the station play host to locomotive's from the GSWR's old rival, the MGWR.
The first two decades of the CIÉ regime saw little change for Portarlington station itself, although the trains that served it would gradually change from steam to diesel over the course of the 1950s and early 60s. A curious resident of the branch for a period in the late steam era was ex-Great Northern Railway of Ireland goods engine No.145, quite a long way from its native territory. However, a major change was to happen in the 1970s, when CIÉ started to divert its Galway and Mayo line trains to run via Portarlington and Tullamore (until then, they operated over the Midland Great Western Railway’s mainline via Mullingar). Thus, Portarlington’s importance as a junction grew from what was until then the confluence of the Cork mainline and a relatively quiet branchline to becoming the main intersection between the primary rail routes from Dublin to the south and west of Ireland. Some track rationalisation did occur, with the centre track removed leaving only the platform lines.
In the late 2000s some rebuilding works took place, with the platforms being moved north of the station building (which is still maintained as an important heritage structure).
Portarlington and Rail Freight
Like many Irish stations, Portarlington had plenty of freight traffic in historic times. Sidings served Odlum’s flour mill and a local sawmill. Sugar beet was also an important seasonal goods traffic until 1984. South of the station, a short branch was laid in 1946 to serve the ESB power station then under construction. Today there is no freight traffic loading or unloading here, however, it does see plenty pass through as container and timber trains make their way through the station to and/from Mayo to Waterford (and Dublin too in the case of containers). Sidings are however still used for stabling ballast (stones) trains, and more often than not you will see one of these stabled here.
Slip Coaches at Portarlington
Slip coaches were an innovation whereby an express train could drop off coaches without stopping, allowing intermediate stations and branchlines to be served without needing to delay the train with frequent stops. While not particularly common in Ireland, Portarlington was one location which saw their use; for a period some Cork trains slipped a carriage at Portarlington which would then be worked by the branch train on to Athlone.
Portarlington Once Had Ireland’s Tallest Signal Cabin
Portarlington once had two signal cabins (one at each end of the station). The north one was destroyed during the Civil War in 1922, after which a new one was constructed located near the junction itself. This was Ireland’s highest. Sadly it was demolished in the 1980s. Conversely, the next station up the line, Monasterevin, was home to one of Ireland's lowest, making for an interesting juxtapostion.
Despite its unassuming appearance today, Portarlington is a station steeped in history and significance. While it may not have the same footprint as bigger stations such as the main Dublin termini or even other junctions, Portarlington nonetheless is a key lynch pin in Ireland’s rail system; looking at the frequency of services through it today along both routes it’s hard to imagine it was once junction to a mere ‘branchline’.
Given its importance as a junction station, our "Great Southern Railway Centennial" railtour on 16th November will be picking up at the station, if you're travelling with us do keep a lookout for the lovingly preserved station building—it's a wonderful piece of heritage architecture. The special departs Portarlington at 09:46 and is back at 19:57. You can get tickets here.
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