Killucan

Killucan, Co.Westmeath, is located roughly half way between Mullingar and Enfield on the main Dublin to Sligo line. The station, which serves an adjacent small village, closed to passengers in November 1947. The station however retained its signal cabin to control the loop and crossing gates. Today, the signal cabin is redundant following CTC introduction recently, and now the loop is controlled from Dublin's Connolly Station's signalling centre. The single storey station building at Enfield has been partially demolished, however the unusually designed goods shed remains intact. Both up & down platforms remain and have the distinctive raised/lower ends of the Midland Great Western Railway design. The station had opened with the line to Mullingar in October 1848.
In 2004, 071 Class locomotive No.084 passes Killucan Station on an afternoon Sligo to Dublin train. The driver and signalman are exchanging staffs on the disused down platform. This mechanical way of signalling on the Sligo line has since been replaced. Killucan Station, looking east towards Dublin from the adjacent level crossing. The main station buildings are located on the former up platform on the left. These manual crossing gates controlled from the signal cabin have since been replaced by automatic lights and barriers. The usuallly designed goods shed on the former down platform at Killucan, built of stone by the Midland Great Western Railway in November October 1848. The building is unlike any other constructed by the MGWR. A view looking east towards Dublin from the disused up platform. The platforms at Killucan are considerably long unlike those at other former Midland Great Western stations.
The former stone and brick built station building at Killucan is on the right in this view looking west towards Sligo, showing the level crossing and semaphore signals, now since removed. Part of the former station buildings at Killucan. The station closed to passengers as early as November 1947, but the buildings and platforms have remained intact for several years since. Killucan signal cabin is a typical MGWR structure, located at the west end of the down platform. The cabin is now redundent following the installation of modern Centralised Traffic Control signalling. The recently painted lever frame and level crossing wheel inside Killucan Station signal cabin, as viewed in early 2004. The cabin also controlled access into the former goods yard.
The neat Killucan signal cabin name board, which remains in situ to this day. folderimage folderthumb