First rail crossing over Shannon happened 175 years ago

Today (Tuesday) is the 175th anniversary of the first-ever train crossing at the River Shannon in Athlone.

That historic journey from Athlone to Galway, which took just under two hours, happened on the afternoon of Monday, July 21, 1851.

An article in the Westmeath Indepedent that month concluded that the initial journeys across Athlone's newly-built railway bridge had demonstrated its "permanency" ahead of a scheduled formal opening on August 1, 1851.

The article went on to marvel that a rail trip between Dublin and Galway could be completed in the then-remarkable time of five hours.

"All doubt is now removed as to the opening of this railway on the 1st of August," the article stated. "During the week a sufficient test has been given to its permanency by the passing up and down of passenger and wagon trains along the line.

"On Monday the journey from Athlone to Galway was made in one hour and forty minutes, being a rate of 36 miles an hour, and we learn that the remainder of the journey to Dublin will be accomplished in three hours, thus completing a journey from the east to the extreme west in the space of five hours!

"The iron bridge across the Shannon is certainly the most attractive structure on the line, and reflects the greatest credit upon the contractors," it added.

By August of 1850, in the latter stages of the Great Famine, more than 1,000 men were engaged in building the railway between Moate and the Batteries in Athlone.

A number of tragedies occurred during this process, including the deaths of four men who were smothered when a bank gave way while they were excavating a portion of the line near Jones' Lake, Moate.

By November 1850, a total of twelve men had died in accidents associated with the rail works in Westmeath.

The construction of the wrought iron railway bridge in Athlone was regarded as the "greatest single engineering feat" during the construction of the Dublin-Galway line.

The 542-foot bridge, designed by GW Hemans, was completed on the night of July 18, 1851, three days before the first train journey from Athlone to the City of the Tribes.

John M Fallon, apothecary and local character, was among those on board that first journey and his account of the occasion was published in the local press.

He stated, "at a quarter to four on Monday we got up steam and started for Galway amidst the repeated cheers of a large assemblage of spectators. We arrived in Galway at twenty minutes to six and were most warmly received on arrival."

A contemporary Westmeath Independent article suggested that the formal opening of the line to Galway, on August 1, 1851, was somewhat anticlimactic.

It stated that the railway from Dublin to Galway opened for traffic, and "the trains during the day arrived precisely at the hours laid down in the timetable".

It added, "It was generally expected that something of a public demonstration would take place, but there was nothing to denote so important an event 'big with the fate' of Ireland; if we except the number of visitors from the counties of Longford, Roscommon, and King's county who, anticipating something of the kind, thronged the platforms and station-house."

The development of the Shannon rail crossing was detailed by Gearoid O'Brien in a series of Athlone Miscellany columns published in this newspaper in 2001.

Gearoid explained that the first discussions about bringing the railway to Athlone and the West took place at a public meeting in the town during which Thomas Bermingham, the manager of the Irish Eastern and Western Railway, encouraged locals to take shares in the company.

To mark the 150th anniversary, in 2001, a commemorative train journey took place from Athlone to Galway. Mary O'Rourke, then the Minister for Public Enterprise, was among those who boarded the train in Athlone after first unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion.

There were celebrations at each of the stops along the way, in Ballinasloe, Woodlawn, Attymon, and Athenry, before the guests were welcomed at another ceremony and subsequent reception in Galway.