Cork and Macroom Direct Railway

The Cork and Macroom Direct Railway was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland which ran the from Cork to Macroom.

History

It was incorporated by the and was chaired by Sir John Arnott and Joseph Ronayne. The engineer for the scheme was Sir John Benson.
Construction work started in 1863. The line cost £6,000 per mile and there were five stations on the length. It opened on 12 May 1866 and utilised the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway terminus at Albert Quay.
The company wanted independence from the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway which was charging £2,000 per annum for the privilege, so it built a new terminus on Summerhill South road fed by a link from Ballyphehane Junction. Cork Capwell railway station cost £28,000, and opened in September 1879. The link with the was severed as the wished to remain independent however they were forced to re-open it by the Irish Railways Executive Committee in 1918.
In 1925, the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway was amalgamated into the Great Southern Railways along with other Irish railway companies. The whilst small was modestly profitable and had attempted to remain independent even again severing their link to the rest of the network but in the end their attempts were fruitless.
Powers to extend the to Kenmare had been granted but were never exercised.

Closure

The Cork Capwell terminus closed on 2 March 1925, and trains reverted to the original terminus at Albert Quay. In 1929, the Capwell station buildings were acquired by the Irish Omnibus Company. The last regular passenger train was operated in 1935 and the line eventually closed to all remaining traffic in 1953 when part of its route was flooded for the creation of the Lee reservoir.

Rolling Stock

Locomotives

The had five locomotives at the time absorption into the.

No.	No.	Type	Type	Builder	Works No.	Introduced	Withdrawn	Notes
1		487/G5	2-4-0T	Dübs and Company	17	1865		Not passed to in 1925
2	487	487/G5	2-4-0T	Dübs and Company	18	1865	1928
3	488	487/G5	2-4-0T	Dübs and Company	235	1867	1934
4	488	487/G5	2-4-0T	Dübs and Company	1505	1881	1928
5	490	490/I2	0-6-2T	Andrew Barclay Sons & Co.	1022	1905	1935
6	491	491/F5	2-4-2T	Vulcan Foundry	1315	1914	1934	Built 1891 for Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway

Carriages and wagons

At the time of the 1925 amalgamation the passed on 27 coaches and 117 wagons to the.

Livery

In 1903 locomotives were light green with black and yellow lining. By the 1925 amalgamation they were black with red lining.

Incidents

On 8 September 1878, there was a derailment east of that resulted in 5 deaths and 70 injuries. This incident resulted in significant financial outlay for the company for several years.

Legislation

Cork and Macroom Direct Railway Act 1861
Cork and Macroom Railway Act 1868
Cork and Macroom Direct Railway Act 1877
Cork and Macroom Direct Railway Act 1889