It looks like the volunteers of the Connemara Railway Project have done a great job in restoring Maam Cross. I hope they really succeed in reinstating a 5-mile long section of the Galway to Clifden Railway line and one day bringing steam trains back to Connemara. I also look forward to visiting the railway one day. 😊
Great video, congratulations to everyone involved in restoring this old Irish railway. I went to Connemara in 2017 when a friend (who lives in Tralee) and I stayed in Galway but not, alas, to Maam Cross but if I ever go back (and I do hope so), it will be my first calling point. Kind regards, David, Crouch End, London N8.
Thanks David. Yeah, there will be lots for you to see when you return. They hope to have the narrow gauge running for the summer and I'll cover that in a video later in the year.
I remembered stopping here last year and the year before, glad you guys are doing this, hope you all do the same to the other railway stations, but I do love to have this railway up and running tbh, so yeah
Great work, very encouraging, and I hope to visit some day. I hope a substantial part of the original standard gauge line can be restored in both directions.
I think we're all hoping for the same. A line from Oughterard station and extending 3-4 miles beyond Maam Cross is probably the outer limits of reasonable cost. Any Billionaire benefactors out there?
Good luck with restoring the railway. If you ever need more locomotives, wether standard or narrow gauge, I would be happy to help you guys build a new steam locomotive to help with running the railway.
I think that the railway should be restored as a 1,600mm railway rather than 913mm one, as it was originally. This would also make it the first broad gauge heritahe railway in Ireland.
Remember camping out at Maam Cross in the 80s with my (then) girl friend - lovely place but quite desolate then. Be very interested at how much more there is to be developed at the site
Still desolate I'm afraid but beautiful. The adjacent hotel is a migrant centre now so local facilities are actually less than they were previously. Over time they hope to provide catering at the reconstructed station, a small museum, as well as short train rides.
They're running with 3ft for now in order to run some trains and get things going while building up the full gauge stock and moving to that in the medium to longer term.