Irish Railways: Last Knock Special via Tuam - September 1991.

Описание: Footage from 7th September 1991 taken at Drim level crossing (N17) just north of Milltown, County Galway.

147 & 175 and a rake of Cravens coaching stock are captured with the 08.50 pilgrimage special from Limerick to Claremorris.

This proved to be the last Knock Special to serve Claremorris from the Athenry direction and at the time was deemed the last passenger working on the section from Athenry to Claremorris.

On the 31 October 1991 this section of railway from Claremorris to Athenry was placed into per-way engineers possession, rendering 35 miles of track unavailable for passenger or freight services.

Within a month on 18 November 1991 Iarnrod Eireann commenced the lifting of 5 miles of track on section north of Tuam in the Kilbannon / Castlegrove area. The line lingered with an unknown future.

The weedspray train operated to Tuam only from Athenry in early summer 1992, while Westrail ECS workings transversed under per/way pilot to allow for steam services in Galway city.

Freight trains returned on what became known as the “Western Freight Corridor” on 5th September 1994, the service was officially launched in Athenry by the Minister of Energy, Noel Treacy that evening as the train returned to Limerick.

Unfortunately the reopening resulted in Tuam station closing as a block post. The disconnection of the signal cabin in Tuam along with the station’s point work and signalling system was the significant contributing factor ending Westrail operations.

Two Irish Traction Group rail-tours traversed the line being the ‘Tuam Freightliner’ 8th April 1994 and ‘Western Venturer’ 7th November 1997. The latter proved to be the last passenger working over the line to date.

The coal & oil liner for the Asahi plant at Killala became the predominate traffic flow until this traffic ended in November 1997 with the closure of the Asahi plant.

The line north from Athenry saw its last revenue train in February 2000, a fertiliser special from Foynes to Claremorris.

Following over 20 years of continuous campaigning by West on Track, the Irish Government in November 2025 confirmed that the Western Rail Corridor (Claremorris–Athenry via Tuam) has been secured as a targeted priority project in the Department of Transport’s Sectoral Plan for the revised National Development Plan. The project is scheduled for delivery by 2030, and enabling works can commence shortly.

Passenger services shall once again be a common sight along the Galway/Mayo border.

The same train is captured passing through Athenry earlier that same morning.

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