Farranfore

A 2700 Class railcar, lead by No.2712, approaches the platform at Farranfore Station with a Tralee to Mallow service. Diesel railcars now operate the majority of services on the Tralee line. No.2706 is the trailing unit on this service, framed neatly beneath the Victorian footbridge at Farranfore. This is the view from footbridge at Farranfore, looking west to Tralee in the summer of 2002. The impressive scenery of Co.Kerry is on the horizon. The same view but taken after the removal of the semaphore signals and upgrading of the Tralee line. Just visible in the right distant is the runway of Co.Kerry's airport.
This is the two storey stone built station building at Farranfore, located on the up side of the line. The Great Southern & Western Railway structure dates from 1859. The Victorian GSWR footbridge at Farranfore Station. These old footbridges still survives at other stations in Co.Kerry. This is the redundant GSWR signal cabin at Farranfore, built mainly of brick and located at the eastern end of the station. The interior of Farranfore signal cabin, as viewed in the summer of 2002. There many gaps in the frame that are missing levers, a reminder of the former junction here with the branch to Valentia, closed in February 1960.
One of the 19th century token machines within Farranfore signal cabin. All of this manual signalling was replaced by modern Centralised Traffic Control in 2005. One of Irish Rail's 1980s style station name boards on the down platform at Farranfore. This platform also accommodated the bay for the Valentia branch line trains which terminated on the opposite side. The remains of the former bay platform at Farranfore Station where the Valentia branch line trains departed. The branch which opened in 1893 was closed in 1960, and diverged to the right heading south. An original granite stone Great Southern & Western Railway milepost measured from Mallow, dating from the late 1850s.
This is the former water tower at Farranfore Station, now missing its tank. It had received a recent tidy up when this photo was taken. The former goods shed at Farranfore Station still stands, although it is no longer used. Regular goods traffic stop serving the station in 1976. Some ancient railwaymens cottages still remain at Farranfore Station. These would have dated from the line's opening in the 1850s. Located at the east end of Farranfore Station was a private siding serving the premisses of Gouldings Fertilizer. Fertilizer trains served this siding on an infrequent bases until 1999, after which it fell into disuse and was eventually disconnected from the main line, although the track beyond the gate remains
The fertilizer siding at Farranfore featured a sharp curve as seen here. Today no fertilizer is carried on Irish railways today.