History of the old Midland Great Western Railway - Part 1
PART ONE
By Tom Gillespie
THE Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge railway company in Ireland.
It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924.
At its peak the MGWR had a network of 538 miles (866 km), making it Ireland's third largest network after the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) and the Great Northern Railway of Ireland.
The Midland Great Western Railway Act received Royal Assent in July 1845, authorising it to raise £1,000,000 capital and to build a railway from Dublin to Mullingar and Longford and to buy the Royal Canal.
Construction of the main line began from Dublin in January 1846 and proceeded westwards in stages, supervised by chief engineer G.W. Hrmans. It opened from Dublin Broadstone as far as Enfield in May 1847 to Hill of Down in December 1847 and to Mullingar in October 1848.
The Westport to Achill line opened in 1895 and closed in 1937. The company issued a promotional 16-page brochure highlighting what visitors could enjoy in Westport, Croagh Patrick, Newport, Mulranny and Achill.
Dr. Oliver Whyte from Westport got his hands on the old brochure which he kindly gave me permission to reprint here.
The foreword read as follows: Modern travelling facilities have placed the west of Ireland within easy reach of all parts of the United Kingdom, and there is no longer any reason why this magnificent endowed district of the Homelands should not become one of the most favoured of all our holiday resorts.
British visitors coming to Ireland have the choice of many ways; but for Westport and the west the direct route is to Hollyhead on the London and North Western System, and thence by fast steamer to Dublin.
The Channel crossing may be made either by the ‘Irish Mail’ or the ‘Irish Express’ and is reduced to a minimum by the great efficiency and rapidity of the large and splendidly-equipped passenger fleets on these specialised services.
A three hours’ sea trip brings the visitor to Dublin, a handsome city entered through a beautiful bay; and thence the way to then west - a matter of four or five hours - direct by the Midland Great Western Railway, starting from the Broadstone station.
The journey is rendered pleasant by the up-to-date comforts and catering provided, and by the varied charms of many of the scenes travelled, which offer, as it were, a foretaste off the richer glories at its end.
Westport
The long-famous west of Ireland towns are winning new renown as the years pass by, as fresh legions of friendly prospectors come and go, carrying home with them delightful memories, and spreading far and near the praises of those inspiring scenes.
Unlike many other districts which appeal to the tourists’ patronage, Connaught is no circumscribed area of pretty picturesqueness.
It is an entire province throughout which nature has lavished her varied gifts with a generosity that defies enumeration in detail, and is indeed almost bewildering in its total magnificence.
And thereto has lately come the busy mind of man, planning how to place these riches within reach of enjoyment by the world at large; pushing out his railway extensions into the remote haunts, raising his fine modern hotels beside the ancient loughs and under the shade of the stern old mountains that look down grimly, but not unkindly, on the fairylands beneath.
Ideal holiday headquarters
Where there exists so extreme a diversity of natural attractions, it is not easy to say that any one part of these favoured areas is more typical of the western highlands than any other.
But Westport, with his neighbourhood, has a special charm and is deserving of a special treatment.
As a holiday resort it is both an end in itself, and a base from whence one may proceed on more adventurous excursions - to Connemara, for instance, on the one side, or up to Ballina or Sligo on the other.
Such being its credentials, then subject matter of the present booklet may not be regarded as labour wasted or as suggestions falling upon unheeding ears.
The journey from Dublin
Westport is one of the farther outposts of the Midland Great Western Railway, a wide-stretching system which serves the centre of Ireland and the entire province of Connaught, besides throwing out its branches so far north as Cavan, and running powers so far in the southern direction as to the city of Limerick.
Travelling by the midland from Broadstone Station, Dublin, you may be sure that the irksomeness of a rather long journey will be reduced to a minimum by the expeditious comforts of an excellent train service.
And what is more, when you come to the western limit the same company will follow you there, and cater for your entertainment by its hotels, its fishing preserves, its golfing courses, and its motor coach service. What more could you desire?
Sylvan scenes
Westport is a good, thriving business town of nearly 4,000 inhabitants, situated amidst attractive well-wooded surroundings.
The Clifden coaches begin and end their journey at the railway station, calling at the Railway Hotel. One of the visitors’ first movements abroad might be a pleasant walk through Lord Sligo’s demesne, crossing the outflow of the lake-expanded Carrowbeg River, and thence onto Westport Quay.
In returning to the town the pedestrian should vary the route, namely by taking the path through the swing-gate on the right, on the quay side of the lake.
This path is really picturesque, and beyond the mansion passes the ruin of the superseded Protestant Church, and then cross the Carrowbeg at a charmingly sylvan spot. Hence the bank of the stream be followed, and the outward route will be rejoined in due course.