Rails Through Connemara

The book begins with an account of Connemara, in the west of Ireland, and the various schemes put forward to link its two main settlements, Galway and Clifden. The first of these was proposed in 1860. Still, it was over 30 years before the line was built by the Midland Great Western Railway, who operated it until 1925 when the government shied away from Nationalisation but merged all railways operating only in the Irish Free State into Great Southern Railways. The line closed in 1935. Given the full Oakwood treatment, there are eleven chapters, including 'Train Services', 'Locomotives and Rolling Stock', and 'Road Services'. Appendices include 'The Shantalla Siding', 'Tourism and the Recess Hotel', 'The Ulster & Connaught Light Railway' and 'The Marconi Railway, Clifden'.