Pyreneenguy
Member
- Joined
- 29 May 2011
- Messages
- 327
On my recent 2 week holiday in Ireland I managed to fit in a half-day trip from Westport to Ballina with my 2 grand-children who had never travelled on a train ! Class 22000 Westport-Dublin and a class 2800 on the Ballina- Manulla Junction shuttle. On departure I was pleasantly surprised to find the loco-hauled (General Motors 201 class number 214) Belmond Hibernian on Westport's platform 2, it was still there when I returned in the late afternoon. The train was well filled, with most passengers going to Dublin. Judging from the perplexed look on the booking-clerks face, very few people travel from Westport to Ballina !
https://www.belmond.com/fr/trains/europe/ireland/belmond-grand-hibernian/
Ballina's freight yard was busy, with timber and later on, just before departure for Manulla Junction at 17.00, containers from Dublin Port arrived, hauled by 071 class number 074. I had a very interesting chat with the shuttle's driver, who informed me that most of the container traffic was for the Coca Cola Concentrate factory. Adding that it supplied 40% of the Worlds production in concentrate. What a knowledgeable fellow ! We were only 6 passengers on the way in, 5 on the return ! Clearly if it was not for the freight, the future of the Ballina branch would be grim.
It is always a pleasure to travel on Iarnród Éireann. The trains are modern and clean, the staff always friendly and helpful. On the way out to Manulla Junction we enjoyed a sandwich and drink from the trolley, the guy who served us chatted to the kids ( who are French) but managed to speak a few words in English in reply.
Photos to follow shortly.
https://www.belmond.com/fr/trains/europe/ireland/belmond-grand-hibernian/
Ballina's freight yard was busy, with timber and later on, just before departure for Manulla Junction at 17.00, containers from Dublin Port arrived, hauled by 071 class number 074. I had a very interesting chat with the shuttle's driver, who informed me that most of the container traffic was for the Coca Cola Concentrate factory. Adding that it supplied 40% of the Worlds production in concentrate. What a knowledgeable fellow ! We were only 6 passengers on the way in, 5 on the return ! Clearly if it was not for the freight, the future of the Ballina branch would be grim.
It is always a pleasure to travel on Iarnród Éireann. The trains are modern and clean, the staff always friendly and helpful. On the way out to Manulla Junction we enjoyed a sandwich and drink from the trolley, the guy who served us chatted to the kids ( who are French) but managed to speak a few words in English in reply.
Photos to follow shortly.
