Album Ireland from tarboat

Power Station Peat

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 07:06:47 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Trainloads of peat in the arrival sidings at the Edenderry power station in County Offaly.

Top lock

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 06:28:44 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The 102ft fall at the Ardnacrusha hydro-electric power station on the Shannon is overcome for navigation by a two-rise staircase lock. The falls are 68ft and 34 ft. This is reaching the top of the deep upper chamber. The locks and power station were completed by 1929.

Moyasta Junction

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 05:26:49 +0000

tarboat has posted:

West Clare Railway No.5 Slieve Callan stands with a train at Moyasta Junction. The Dübs (1892) built locomotive returned to service in 2009 after a major restoration by Alan Keef which included a new boiler from Israel Newton. This line never recovered from the disruption of Covid and closed in 2022.

Hydro lock

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 06:46:41 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The building of the Shannon hydroelectric scheme in the late 1920s required navigation to be maintained down to Limerick after the Parteen Weir cut off the old route via O'Briensbridge. This was achieved by building a double staircase lock at the Ardnacrusha power station. Taken from the approach canal this shows the entrance to the lower lock which has a rise of 34ft whilst the top lock has a rise of 68ft. This is the deepest lock in Britain and Ireland.

Peat Power

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 06:08:38 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Old and new peat fired power stations of the Irish Electricity Supply Board at Shannonbridge on the River Shannon. The old Shannonbridge plant at the right was closed after an accident in February 2004 when a high-pressure pipe at the plant exploded. The plant was already to be decommissioned as part of the planned closure of all six peat-fuelled stations in the country at that time. It was demolished in 2009. The station used three generating units to produce electricity, each with its own boiler, turbine and generator. Units 1 and 2 were commissioned in 1965 and 1976 respectively, each with a capacity of 40MW, while a more modern unit 3 was commissioned in 1982 at a capacity of 45MW.

Subsequently in 2004 the new 150 megawatt West Offaly station at the left was opened and this was supplied with around 1 million tons of peat annually by Bord na Mona. On 11 December 2020 the station ceased all power production after permission to continue burning peat was refused. This plant housed a single boiler/turbine unit with an electrical output of 135 MW.

A hybrid 97 MW / 170 MWh synchronous condenser / battery storage power station grid stability plant started construction at the site in 2022, expected to complete by 2024 a cost of €130 million.

Swing bridge

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 06:09:03 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Railway swing bridge carrying the Bord na Mona line across the Grand Canal west of the village of Pollagh. The closure of the Irish peat railways has now rendered this bridge redundant.

Murmuration

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 06:13:48 +0000

tarboat has posted:

A murmuration of swifts over the River Shannon at Victoria Lock, Meelick. This is the meeting point of Counties Offaly, Tipperary and Galway. It was pouring with rain at the time.

House for sale

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 06:59:47 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Derelict cottage next to the Blundell Aqueduct on the Grand Canal at Edenderry. It has been up for sale if anyone fancies it.

The Red Bridge

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 06:00:44 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The swinging section of the Barrow Viaduct on the former Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford branch railway to New Ross and Waterford. This bridge over the tidal River Barrow has been retained for use as part of the New Ross Greenway.

Edenderry cottage

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 07:01:09 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Derelict cottage next to the Blundell Aqueduct on the Grand Canal at Edenderry. It has been up for sale if anyone fancies it.

Eel packing

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 07:28:36 +0000

tarboat has posted:

This interesting building was erected for the storage and packing of eels caught on the Shannon around Killaloe. The lower floor of the eel house is made up of tanks with mesh sides, which the river can flow through; eels can be kept alive there. There are walkways between the tanks. The eel fishery is now closed and the emphasis is on eel conservation.

Door factory

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 06:20:49 +0000

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The Masonite factory at Drumsna, Co. Leitrim is a major employer in the Carrick-on-Shannon area of Ireland with a staff of around 300. Established in 1997, it produces door facings.

On the Shannon Viaduct

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 06:23:24 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The 150 megawatt West Offaly power station was supplied each year with around 1 million tons of peat from the bogs in the region around Shannonbridge. Adjacent to the power station the narrow gauge railway that brought in the peat crossed the River Shannon on this viaduct. The train is heading away from the power station and back to the bogs for another load.

All this has ended with the closure of the power station on December 11, 2020 after permission to continue burning peat was refused.

Dromod tank

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 06:42:33 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Water tank at Dromod shed on the Cavan & Leitrim Railway. Although the line closed in 1959, this end has seen a revival by preservationists and the tank is now back in use for watering their steam locomotive.

Shannon Viaduct

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 06:34:52 +0000

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Canal water

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 05:54:39 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The tower at Cabras adjacent to Broombridge in Dublin was supplied with water from the Royal Canal. Whilst the tower survives there is very little to see of the pumping engine house which was next to it. The remains of a water column are evident at the side of the railway.

Ballyconnell cement

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 05:23:49 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Quinn Cement plant at Ballyconnell has a production capacity of 3,800 tons per day. This business has now been renamed Mannok Cement following the 2014 takeover of Sean Quinn's industrial holdings by US hedge funds and a local consortium.

Warehousing

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 29 May 2021 06:36:24 +0000

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End of the line

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 06:30:08 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Terminal station of the Cavan and Leitrim Railway at Dromod.

The Bog Train

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:23:34 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Bord na mona Blackwater bog railtour.

In July 2008 we arrived in Shannonbridge by boat and tied up on the wharf on a Saturday evening. Having heard about the bog railway tours we wandered into the village to enquire about whether the trains were running on Sunday morning. Entering the crowded Killeen's bar I spotted a couple having a quiet drink sat at the counter of the grocer's shop that formed part of the establishment. As they looked local I approached them and asked if they knew whether the train was running on the next day. The woman laughed for a minute and then told me that we had chosen the right people to ask as her husband was the driver! Needless to say we were given a great trip around the bog in the morning. Something I shall never forget. That was the last year that these tours operated.