Tubber

Tubber Station serves only a sparsely populated area in south Co.Galway. Tubber is located on the Waterford Limerick & Western Railway's Limerick to Athenry line, and was opened one year after the line in May 1870. The station, which closed in June 1963, only had one platform, and an untypical station building for this section of the line, larger than most. There was once a goods loop on the up side of the line also. The former station yard is now used as a ballast loading point for permanent way trains. The Limerick to Athenry line, having been largely disused since the late 1990s, was fully reopened in March 2010.
Tubber Station, on the Limerick to Athenry line, was closed in June 1963. The well maintained station building remains. Since the line's reopening a fence has been placed along the old platform. Tubber Station, as viewed from the station yard. This particular station building was not common on this stretch of the Limerick to Athenry line. The building dates from May 1870. The original Great Southern & Western Railway nameboard also survives at Tubber Station, along with the wooden platform benches. A maintenance vehicle is seen stored at the north end of Tubber Station, as viewed looking north to Athenry. The track has since been relaid to modern standards.
The somewhat winding alignment of the track south of Tubber as it crosses a marshy bogland. Since reopening, the line has been rebuilt and raised above the bog. The then unattended level crossing south of Tubber Station at Gortafica. The crossing has since been rebuilt to a four barrier automatic crossing. The adjacent crossing keepers house at Gortafica has since been demolished to makeway for the new automatic level crossing. This view is looking south towards Limerick prior to the line been rebuilt and reopened. Recently ballasted track at Gortafica, south of Tubber Station. The line nowadays has concrete sleepers and long welded rails.
A rocky cutting south of Gortafica, near Tubber Station. Some of the cuttings have been opened out for clearance purposes.