Laffansbridge

This is Laffansbridge & Killenaule Station, Co.Tipperary, which served the latter location on the independent Southern of Ireland Railway which ran between Clonmel and Thurles, opening between 1879 and 1880, and later taken over by the Waterford & Limerick, and then the Great Southern & Western Railway in 1901. The isolated station is located west of the village of Killenaule and was generally referred to as just 'Laffansbridge'. It had a single platform, upon which the large W&LR station building was located, as well as adjacent goods shed and loading bank on the up side. The signal cabin was located at the south end of the station on the down side, while at the north end was a twin arched road overbridge. Passenger services over the line ceased in 1963, but the station remained in use for occasional goods traffic until 1967. Today the main station building, dating from 1880 with the extension of the line from Fethard, remains in a derelict condition though retains some of its original features. The stone built goods shed survives as a storage facility. The aforementioned road overbridge has also been removed. North of the station the line passes by bog land which still feature some 3ft gauge Bord na Mona peat railways.
The derelict Laffansbridge Station, on the 1880 built Clonmel to Thurles line. The station building and single platform remain, as does the small stone built goods shed and loading bank. Laffansbridge Station, as viewed from the adjacent road which once crossed the line by a twin arched stone bridge. This view is looking south towards Clonmel. The station building at Laffansbridge, located on the down side of the line. This view is from the former goods loading bank, with the overgrown trackbed in the foreground. On the platform at the north end of Laffansbridge Station, showing the original wooden veranda. Peeling paint reveals traces of the one time red livery the station once displayed in the late 1960s.
The ground floor of Laffansbridge Station building, the green and cream paint was commonly found within CIE stations, another example includes Ballysadare in Co.Sligo. A view out from one of the glassless bay windows onto the platform at Laffansbridge Station. Laffansbridge, as viewed from what was the station forecourt, which is also now heavily overgrown. Although derelict for many years, the wooden gable end boards remain remarkably intact. The southern end of the single platform at Laffansbridge Station, with the end ramp visible.
The small stone built goods shed at Laffansbridge, complete with its derelict loading bank, last used in 1967. Another view of Laffansbridge Station from the road which once crossed the line over an attractive twin arched road overbridge, demolished some time after the line closed in 1967. Oddly enough railways still exist in the Laffansbridge and Killenaule area. A few miles north of the station the former line passes through bog land served by 3ft narrow gauge lines. This is the approach to one such road level crossing on the network. Level crossing north of the Laffansbridge area where a 3ft guage Bord na Mona line crosses a narrow country lane. The crossing gates are typical of the type found on these lines.
A view of the 3ft narrow gauge line at this level crossing north of Laffansbridge and Killenaule.