Albert Quay station in Cork City was the terminus of the Cork Bandon & South Coast Railway. This railway served a number of towns and villages in west Cork such as Bantry, Bandon and Clonakilty. In the 1950s CIE dieselised the west Cork lines using AEC railcars and Metrovick C class diesels. Sadly however all of the west Cork lines were closed completely in 1961, isolating these towns in this county. Albert Quay station was linked to the Great Southern & Western Railways's Glanmire Rd station on the north side of the River Lee by the Cork City Railways, which was a tramway that ran through the streets. After 1961, Albert Quay remained in use for goods traffic, in later years been mainly oil & fertiliser, the trains using this tramway to access the yard. This too finally closed in 1976, been replaced by the now disused North Esk terminal on the Cobh line. These pictures of Albert Quay station were taken prior to the reconstruction work which has now removed the former train shed.
1 The Cork Bandon & South Coast Railway terminus at Albert Quay in Cork City, which has not seen a passenger since the 1st of April 1961. This view dates from February 2003 before the station area was redeveloped.
2 The interior of Albert Quay Station. This is the former booking office, located at the end of the train shed which once contained two platforms.
3 This is the old trainshed at Albert Quay in 2003, with the station building visible in the background. The shed which once contained the platforms and track are walled off in this view. This structure has since been demolished.
4 This is a side view of the former train shed at Albert Quay Station, looking out towards the platforms. Since these photos were taken the shed has been demolished and whole area redeveloped.
5 The cast iron columns which held up the former train shed at Albert Quay Station. Road vehicles were able to access the platform at this end.
6 This gate entrance which leads onto Eglinton Street is where the former Cork City Tramway line entered Albert Quay Station. The tramway which connected Albert Quay to the rest of the railway network on the north side city closed in 1975.
7 This is what once was the railway yard at Albert Quay Station, where the end of the platforms were sited. The road on the extreme right follows the former trackbed. The yard remained in railway use until 1975.
8 The Cork City Tramway crossed the River Lee twice using two lifting bridges, one of which was located opposite the Albert Quay terminus, visible in this photo. The one seen here is the 'Clontarf Bridge'.
9 A recent view of the of the 'Clontarf Bridge' located adjacent to Albert Quay Station, which once carried the Cork City Railway across the River Lee. The office blocks in the background are recent additions to the skyline in Cork City.
10 The other Cork City Tramway bridge is the 'Brian Boru Bridge', the design is known as a Scherzer rolling lifting bridge. Throughout its history the bridge carried both the tramway and the road, but the tramway was removed after the line closed in 1975.
11 A more recent view of the former Albert Quay Station in Cork City, now located adjacent to a modern office block.
12 This is the site of the former gate entrance for the Cork City Railways. Since 2003 an office block has been constructed on the site of the train shed, once sited to the right.
13 Some of the old railway goods stores remain in situ adjacent to Albert Quay Station. The stores appear to be in a semi derelict condition as posed to the modern office block development nearby.
14 A view looking south towards Bandon from what was the end of the platforms at the former Albert Quay Station. In this view the stone wall visible on the far right is the only reminder of the large station and yard once located here.
15 This pedestrian footbridge spans the southern site of the Albert Quay Station, which the wide N27 road now runs through, visible in the background. Originally this was a road bridge carrying the Hibernian Rd across the railway. The road bridge was removed in 1982 following the closure of Albert Quay to goods traffic .
16 The brick built viaduct which carried the Hibernian Rd up to the bridge across the Albert Quay station and yard. The bridge was removed in 1982 to allow the constuction of the N27 road.
17 A view looking north towards the former station at Albert Quay from what was the Hibernian Rd overbridge. The stone wall on the left marked the boundary of the railway line.
20 Another view looking north towards the former station at Albert Quay. The tall office block marks the site of the one time train shed. The N27 road as well as a petrol station occupy the site of the former railway yard.
21 A view looking south towards Bandon from what was the former Hibernian Rd overbridge. The cutting wall on the right dates from the time of the railway, though originally the cutting was much narrower, having since been widened to accommodate the N27 road. The bridge in the distance is the 'new' Old Blackrock Rd overbridge.
23 Located at the south end of the former Albert Quay yard was the Cork Bandon & South Coast Railway's locomotive depot at Rocksavage. Locos were also often stabled beneath the adjacent Hibernian Rd overbridge. Today the site remains vacant.
24 The brick arch supports which once supported a large water tank for the steam locomotives stabled at Rocksavage, adjacent to the station and yard at Albert Quay.
25 This is the southern extremity of Albert Quay, looking back north towards the former station and yard from the Old Blackrock Rd. At this point the railway line would have been was single track and passed beneath the road via a short tunnel bridge.
26 A plaque mounted to the wall adjacent to the Old Blackrock Rd bridge, commemorating the demolition of the railway bridge for its rebuilding to span the N27 road.
27 Signs of the former railway south of Albert Quay can still in be seen adjacent to the N27 road. In this view of the cutting wall can be seen the stone and brick supports which once formed part of the aforementioned carriage shed. Above the street lamp can be seen a railway telegraph pole.
28 A view looking south towards Bandon from the Old Blackrock Rd bridge. In the 1980s the N27 road was constructed on the former railway alignment. The bridge which the Bus Eireann coach is traversing was once a narrow stone arch overbridge.
29 The first significant junction south of Albert Quay on the former Cork Bandon & South Coast Railway was at Ballyphehane, where the one time Cork & Macroom Railway joined and then diverged towards their own terminus at Capwell. This view is looking north towards Albert Quay at the site of Ballyphehane, where the line to Capwell diverged to the left, which closed completely in 1953 and lifted in 1955.
30 The former Cork & Macroom Railway terminus at Capwell in Cork City, located a few miles south west of the CBSCR station at Albert Quay. Dating from September 1879, this station allowed the C&MCR to run trains into their own terminus in Cork, diverted from Albert Quay following a disagreement with the CBSCR.
31 Another former railway terminus adjacent to the CBSCR's Albert Quay was the Cork Blackrock & Passage Railway station at Albert Street, seen here. Opened in 1873, the CB&PR was closed by the Great Southern Railway in 1932.
