History of Killucan Station
by James A. Corroon
In the summer of 1845, a few short months before the first signs of the devestating Irish Famine appeared, an Act of the British Parliament gave the newly-formed "Midland" Company the right to to build a rail line from Dublin to Mullingar to service the national population of 8.5 million people. Construction commenced on 12th January 1846 from Broadstone Dublin to run parallel to the Royal Canal, which Midland had purchased for £298,059.
The new line was quickly constructed and service commenced to Enfield by June 1847 and reached Mullingar on 2nd October 1848. The line originally opened as a double track with semaphore signals, but was reduced to a single line working with a STAFF system in 1931 as the Irish population plunged to 2.5 million or 30% of that when the line was originally approved.
Significant losses realised by CIÉ in the 1950s led the government to establish an inquiry headed by Dr. James Beddy, a Dublin economist, into the long-term sustainability of the Irish railway system. The committee report, which was published in May 1957, expressed the view that the country's railway system had been built, equipped and staffed to meet needs which no longer existed. While the committee was not prepared to recommend the complete abandonment of the railways, it did recommend that more than half the system and approximately three-quarters of the stations and halts be closed and that there be a much greater degree of co-ordination between road and rail services. The resulting Transport Act of 1958 required CIÉ to operate within an annual subvention of £1¾ million for each of the five years up to 31st March, 1964, A further Act, passed in 1964 extended this period to the end of March 1969 and increased the subvention to £2 million for the second five year period. Between them, the two Acts led to widespread closures of lines between 1959 and 1967, including Killucan station, which closed for service in 1964.
Personal Memories of Killucan Station
In 1949-50/51, I remember boarding the special football excursion bringing patrons to Croke Park. On arriving home my mother queried why my face was so black - I had been leaning out the window for a lot of the journey and not noticing the black smoke. The water supply for the station and steam locomotives was sourced from the 23rd lock of the Royal Canal by gravity feed. Diesel locomotives were introduced in the 1960's.
A goods train de-railed at Killucan station in 1942. The station master awoke the next morning to find a long timber carriage leaning over his house.
Killucan Station & Railway History
- 1806 - The Royal Canal opened to Mullingar
- 1825 - George Stephenson opened 1st railway in the world
- 1846 - Midland Great Western Railway company commenced construction in Broadstone
- 1846 - Royal Canal purchased by MGWR
- 1847 - Killucan railway station constructed
- 1848 - Double track railway line opened to Mullingar
- 1920-1924 - Midland Great Western railway almalgamated with the Great Southern Railway
- 1931 - Service reduced to single line and semaphore signals changed to colour aspect
- 1937 - Broadstone line closed to Inchicore
- 1942 - Goods train de-railed in Killucan
- 1939/45 - Sport special services prevalant after war
- 1945 - Córas Iompair Éireann established
- 1950 - Railway companies are nationalised
- 1960 - Diesel locomotives introduced
- 1964 - Internal communication switched from block telegraph to telephone
- 1964 - Killucan station closed
- 1987 - Iarnród Éireann established as a subsidiary of CIÉ
- 2003 - Re-Open Killucan Station Campaign Established
- 2003 - Re-Open Killucan Station Campaign Established
- 2006 - The almost fully refurbished Royal Canal celebrates 200 years of existance
- 2007 - Spencer Dock station opens at the most easterly point of the Royal Canal, the first new station built since Tara Street station opened in 1890
- 2009 - The Royal Canal re-opens to the River Shannon at its most westerly point, Richmond Harbour
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