Map of the Dublin & Blessington Line
Map of the Dublin & Blessington Line
In the early days of operations of the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway, the trams terminated in the Templeogue Road opposite a public house named Flood's. From 1890, the trams were able to run into a small yard off the Templeogue Road, near the junction with Rathfarnham Road. A small booking office was provided here, along with the general offices of the company. There were a number of sidings here, as well as a loading bank for the goods wagons.
Leaving the terminus yard, an iron gate opened out onto the Templeogue Road. The trams ran out onto the left hand side of the road, joining the connecting line to the Dublin electric trams, where goods wagons would be collected by an electric powered locomotive, before being distributed throughout the rail network. In these days, the road was extensively wooded, as this was a time before the extensive urbanisation of areas like Terenure, on the outskirts of the city.
The first point of civilisation on the line was the village of Templeogue. On the approach to the village, the tram passed very close to the gable wall of a group of cottages, such that a notice was erected to warn pedestrians to 'Beware of the Tram.' Next came the main tram depot of Templeogue. Here could be found engine sheds, carriage sheds, a workshop and a smithy. This is where locomotive number 4 ended it's days, as a static engine providing power to the plant and machinery.
The first passing loop on the line was situated here. The first stop after the depot was at Templeogue bridge, serving the bottom of the Firhouse Road. The tramway continued on, stopping at Templeogue Mill, and then undertaking a fairly steep climb towards Balrothery, along the road which today forms part of the busy dual carriageway of the Tallaght by-pass. There was a siding and booking office at Balrothery, and then the line curved it's way along the old road into Tallaght village. There was another passing loop here, and a stop at Fox's public house.
After Tallaght, the line turned sharply at the church and graveyard, and this part of the road has not changed much in all those years. There was another passing place at Clondalkin Road, where short workings to Tallaght waited, before returning the three and a half miles back to Terenure. Here, too, was a short branchline to Tallaght aerodrome, provided by the British Government. The branch line was removed in 1923, and the aerodrome has long since disappeared under the industrial developments of the Airton Industrial Estate.
The next passing loop was at Jobstown. Then the tramway passed beside the de Selby Quarries, and a siding was provided here for considerable goods traffic from the quarries. Just before Embankment, the tramway crossed to the right hand side of the road. The Embankment got it's name from the embankment which was constructed to carry the trams across a field, avoiding a u-shaped turn in the road where it joined the road from Saggart and Rathcoole. As well as a stop and passing loop, there was a water tower here, to replenish the locomotives ready for the next arduous stage of the journey.
After the Embankment stop, the trams climbed steeply for one and a half miles to Crooksling, some 700 feet above sea level. At one point the gradient reached 1 in 20, and the trams rarely bettered 5mph up the steep incline. There were many incidences of trams running out of control down this hill, and in one case, a locomotive ran away, derailing at the bottom of the hill. It took the staff of the tramway three days to get it back onto the line!
There was a passing place at Crooksling, and here, the trams stopped to serve the City of Dublin Sanatorium. The surrounding area now was very barren and remote. The trams crossed back to the left hand side of the road. The Brittas Inn was situated at the ten mile point, and the trams usually took at least an hour to reach this point of the line. There was a passing point here, and the trams stopped here, and at The Lamb, a hostelry further on.
Just two and a half miles from Blessington now, the trams crossed again to the right hand side of the road, where sidings led to more busy quarries. Blessington was reached at fifteen and a half miles from Terenure, and the long, wide, straight road running through the town, with overhanging trees, has not changed too much down the years. At the end of the town, there was an engine shed, with passing loop and sidings.
After Blessington, the trams returned to the left hand side of the road. There were further stops at Russborough house, Baltiboys Road, Burgage Road, Featherbed Lane and Ballymore road. At Ballymore Road, there was a siding with a cattle loading bank. Poulaphouca was the end of the line, and here, there was a passing loop, waiting room, and engine shed with room for one locomotive.
Many people were killed in the tram days, including many people who were the worse for drink, who were knocked down by the tram which was known to appear suddenly and silently from around a turn in the road, or behind a hedge. In one case, a conductor was thrown to his death from the swaying trailer car. A cross was usually erected beside the road for casualties of the tram, and the line became known for years after as the longest graveyard in the world!