Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway


The Waterford Limerick & Western Railway, formerly the Waterford and Limerick Railway up to 1896, was at the time it was amalgamated with the Great Southern & Western Railway in 1901 the fourth largest railway in Ireland, with a main line stretching from Limerick to Waterford and branches to Sligo and Tralee.

Inception

The Limerick & Waterford Railway Act was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 31 May 1826 and had the distinction of being the first act authorising an Irish railway. No construction followed and it was 1845 before the Waterford & Limerick Railway was authorised, the first section of the line being opened from Limerick to Tipperary on 9 May 1848, the remainder of the main line being opened in stages, finally reaching Waterford in 1854.

Secondary lines

The company eventually operated two long branch lines which extended from Limerick, north west to Sligo and south west to Tralee.

Branch lines

By 1900 there were a number of branch lines:
The W&LR was generally short of cash to maintain rolling stock and most locomotive superintendents who were typically did not stay long. Incumbents included:
In 1900 the GS&WR and WL&WR Amalgamation Act was passed by the House of Commons and the WL&WR finally lost its independence on 1 January 1901.

Livery

The WL&WR locomotives were painted a medium green until 1876 and was replaced by a brown livery with blue and yellow lining. In the late 1880s J.G. Robinson introduced a crimson lake livery with gold lining for both passenger locomotives and coaching stock, very close to that of the Midland Railway of England. Goods engines were painted black with red and white lining.

Present day

The former WL&WR lines operational in 2010 are owned by Iarnród Éireann. The main line route from Limerick to Waterford and the line to Ennis remain open to passenger traffic. The extension of the line from Ennis to Athenry was officially re-opened on 29 March 2010. These lines are part of the Western Rail Corridor.