GSR 100 celebrations continue

Last November we kicked off the Great Southern Railway(s) 100th Anniversary celebrations with a railtour over much of its premier standard gauge thoroughfare, from Dublin to Killarney via Limerick, hauled by Enterprise loco 209, which carried a special commemorative headboard. You can read about that here. This marked a century since the almagmation process started, when the Great Southern & Western Railway, the Midland Great Western Railway and the Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway merged to form the Great Southern Railway (singular) in November 1924. However, the amalgamation process continued well into 1925, when the Dublin & South Eastern Railway, along with several narrow gauge lines, were brought into the merger, with the company becoming the Great Southern Raiways (plural). Yesterday, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the completion of this amalgamation by bringing the headboard to its own surviving (operable) narrow gauge line, the Cavan & Leitrim Railway.

Nancy, the Cavan & Leitrim Railway's active steam engine, proudly wears the GSR 100 headboard.

The headboard was worn by their beautifully restored 1907 vintage steam loco "Nancy", we think it suits her quite well.

Táilte Tours Marketing Officer Niall Kelly (right) presents Cavan & Leitrim Railway loco volunteer Peter Williams with the commemorative GSR 100 headboard.

We have donated the headboard to their museum, where it joins several headboards from our predecessors in the Irish railtour scene, such as the Great Southern Railway Preservation Society, Southern Railtours and the Irish Traction Group, now historic artefacts in themselves, and showcasing the story of Irish railtours in the past four decades or so.

On the right is a railtour from Southern Railtours "Western Enterprise" railtour in the early 1990s,

The museum at Dromod has a collection of old headboards run by operators such as the Great Southern

This headboard is from "The Silver Cloud" railtour, run by our friends in the Irish Traction Group i

Nancy will be in steam again next Sunday before the museum closes for the winter, so do make a visit if you can.

For more about the GSR's Anniversary, check out our blog article on this historic event in Irish history.

If you would like to support the Cavan & Leitrim Railway museum's efforts, we are selling special badges to raise funds for them, depicting one of the line's original locomotives.

Cavan & Leitrim Railway 4-4-0T enamel badge

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We also have some special badges commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Great Southern Railway, modelled after a GSR axle-box cover.

GSR 100 Enamel Badge

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