Envision a hive of activity. This is Inchicore Railway Works. It stands as Ireland’s major rail engineering facility. Locally it is known as Inchicore or The Works.
Inchicore Railway Works was founded in 1846. The Great Southern and Western Railway established it. Inchicore emerged as the major engineering center for railways in Ireland. It is located about 3 km west of Dublin city center. The works cover approximately 73 acres. That is 300000 m2.
When Inchicore Railway Works opened in 1846 only 39 people were employed. The locomotive erecting shop had 18 pits on one side and 16 on the other. By 1886 the works had expanded to 52 acres. In 1934 the erecting shop was replaced. A new building came with roads. In 1976 the works employed over one thousand people. It was 72 acres in size.
Inchicore Railway Works sits alongside the Dublin to Cork main line. It lies about 3 kilometers out of Heuston Station. This line also serves Waterford Limerick Athlone Galway and Ballina. The Dublin to Belfast Sligo and Wexford lines and North Wall complex can be reached. This is via a link line near Heuston station.
Besides the works used for overhauls and heavy repairs the site also contains a depot. This depot is for the regular maintenance of locomotives and carriages.
A small stream runs through the site. It is sometimes known as the Creosote Stream. This is owing to pollutants from the works in earlier times. It rises west of the works. It joins the River Liffey close to the Irish National War Memorial Gardens. The stream divides into various branches. These flow beneath the Inchicore Railway Works. The outdoor lavatories of the railway works were previously placed directly above one of these watercourses.
In addition to building and maintaining trains locomotives buses and trucks Inchicore achieved a number of notable engineering accomplishments. These included armored vehicles armor-plated trains experimental battery trains turf-burning locomotives and munitions.
While Inchicore did not initially build locomotives by 1851 the GS&WR board felt this was now practicable. In 1852 the first locomotive entered service. It was an 0-4-2 number 57.
In the 1920s and 1930s engineers at Inchicore created the Drumm Battery Train. This was in conjunction with James J. Drumm. These ran generally on services to Bray in the period 1931-1949.
Issues with the supply of quality coal from 1941 precipitated some experiments with turf burning and other initiatives. Further coal supply issues in 1946 resulted in a conversion of a number of locomotives to oil burning in 1947 and 1948. Increased availability of coal and issues with oil prices led to these being converted back to coal from 1948. In 1957 an experimental turf-burning locomotive was constructed. It was CIÉ No. CC1. However it never entered full service. It was the last steam locomotive constructed at Inchicore. It was also the last steam locomotive constructed for the commercial railways of Ireland.
In 1951 the CIÉ 113 Class was built at Inchicore Railway Works. These were the first mainline diesel locomotives in Ireland.
Rolling stock associated with Inchicore railway works and preserved include examples of GS&WR Class 90. No. 90 is preserved at the Downpatrick and County Down Railway. GS&WR Class 101 No. 184 is preserved at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. GSR Class 800 No. 800 Maedb is preserved at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
Inchicore Railway Works is more than just a facility. It is a testament to Irish engineering ingenuity. It is a place where innovation and hard work have shaped the nation’s railways.