Bandon

Bandon, Co.Cork, is the largest town west of Cork City and was the starting point for the Cork & Bandon Railway, which opened in stages between these locations in June 1849 and December 1851. The original Bandon terminus was located near the town centre, but was subsequently re-sited on a new alignment to connect to the West Cork Railway, which opened towards Bantry in 1874. The re-sited station was later rebuilt by the Cork Bandon & South Coast Railway in 1894 and featured an island platform on which a single storey Victorian station building was sited. Access to the platform was from a subway at the west end of the station. The signal cabin was on the up side and behind this was the line leading to the original 1849 terminus, which survived as a goods depot until complete closure of the West Cork lines by CIE in March 1961.

Today, the station building at Bandon, which retains its island platform, is now used by the Cork County Council. The formation of the line leading to the original 1849 terminus and goods depot is now the (old) N71 road, but large goods shed remains as a shopping centre. At the east end of the station was a siding which crossed the adjacent Bandon River to serve Beamish Bottling Works, while on the down side a siding diverged south towards Allmans distillery, closing in 1956 and 1931 respectively.
Bandon, looking west towards Bantry from the up side of the station. On the left is the single storey brick built station building which was located on an island platform, the up side of which can be seen on the left. A railway telegraph pole remains in situ, but a new road on the right has been constructed on the site of the signal cabin and goods yard. This is the up side of the former Bandon Station, which served Cork bound trains. This view is looking west along the platform towards Bantry. This side of the structure remains largely unaltered since closure of the railway in March 1961. A view looking east towards Cork from the up side of Bandon Station. After closure in 1961, the N71 road leading into the town was constructed along the former goods yard, which once was the original terminus of the Cork & Bandon Railway of 1849. A view looking towards Cork from the east end of Bandon Station, with the edge of the up platform in the foreground. Beyond this point was the former West Cork Junction, where the newer 1866 constructed line towards Bantry diverged from the former 1849 terminus in the town.
This is the down side of Bandon Station, now used by Cork County Council. The brick built station dated from March 1894 and replaced the earlier stations on both the east and west side of the town. The down side of the platform also remains intact at Bandon Station. A landscape garden has been constructed on the former trackbed. At the south end of Bandon Station the Cork County Council now utilise the down side of the former line as yard for road building materials. This is the view looking west towards Bantry from the down side of Bandon Station. Passengers had to pass beneath the railway via a subway to access the island platform and station building.
This is the approach to the former Cork & Bandon Railway terminus in Bandon, located just west of the 1894 built station. The former terminus was used as goods depot for Bandon until closure in 1961. There were several industries located along the approach to the old 1849 terminus in Bantry. This building was formerly the gas works and was served by a siding. This is the large goods shed in Bandon, located adjacent to the one time terminus station of 1849. The station site and shed remained in use for goods traffic until closure of the west Cork lines in 1961. At the east end of Bandon on the up side there was a long siding serving the Beamish Bottling Works, which crossed the River Bandon. The siding was constructed by the CBSCR in 1912 and remained in use until 1956. The bridge was subsequently removed but the one of the stone piers remains on the right. Bandon Station can be seen through the trees in the left background.
Close up of the stone pier which once supported the bridge carrying the siding across the River Bandon into the Beamish Bottling Works, located on the north side of the town. Also located at the east end of Bandon was Allman's Distillery, seen here. In 1874 a siding was constructed to serve the distillery which diverged from the main line just before Bandon Station and entered the yard pictured here. The siding serving the Allman's Distillery east of Bandon Station travelled along this road as a tramway. The siding was closed in 1930 and was finally removed in 1942. The hedge row in the distance marks the formation of the former main line leading into Bandon Station. This is the Phoenix Bridge west of Bandon Station which carried the railway line towards Bantry over Oliver Plunkett St in the town. Today only one of the stone bridge abutments remains, seen here.