The 175th anniversary of the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway:

June 2025 marks the 175th anniversary of a major development in the history of transport in Cork: the opening of the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway. This opening of this line was significant in a number ways, not least of which being the fact that it was the first railway to enter Cork city itself. In this article, we celebrate it’s anniversary by taking a look this railway’s history and its development over the years.

A contemporary depiction of the opening of the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway, from the Illustrated London News.

Plans to develop a railway from Cork to Passage can be traced back as far as 1837 when the Cork & Passage Railway Act was passed; contextually, this was not long after the opening of Ireland’s first railway, the Dublin & Kingstown, in 1834. While this scheme did not come to fruition, the idea was explored again in the mid 1840s, with schemes floated to link Cork, Passage and Kinsale, Cork and Passage, and Cork, Passage and Monkstown, ultimately leading to the passing of an Act incorporating the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway in 1846. Construction commenced in 1847, with Sir John MacNeill appointed as the engineer. An associate of Thomas Telford, MacNeill had previously been involved in the construction of the Dublin & Drogheda Railway. Later, William Dargan was brought to hasten completion of the project.

At this stage it’s worth noting that, while perhaps best known as a narrow gauge line, the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway was constructed as a 5’3 (Irish standard) gauge line, and operated as such longer than it did as a narrow gauge concern.

Construction was completed by April 1850, and in the following month, a trial was undertaken using a borrowed Great Southern & Western Railway 2-2-2 locomotive (similar to locomotive No.36, which on display in Cork’s Kent Station).

The line officially opened on 8th June 1850, with the first service departing Cork at 10 am. The first weekend of services proved to be extremely popular, with thousands of passengers travelling. A connecting omnibus service was established between Passage and Monkstown. The original Cork terminus, City Park, was located on Victoria Road, and it’s worth noting that this was the first railway to enter Cork city itself; while the Great Southern & Western Railway line had reached Cork in 1849, that terminus was outside the city at Blackpool, and would not reach the city proper until 1855.

Two 2-2-2 Well Tank locomotives were ordered from Sharp Brothers & Company of Manchester, followed by a third, and these would form the line’s motive power for its first 50 years of operation.No.2 was later converted to a saddle tank.

Apart from the termini at City Park and Passage, intermediate stations were located at Blackrock and Rochestown. A large viaduct was constructed to cross the Douglas River just before the latter station.

The railway was quick to capitalise on the money to be had by providing steamer services from Passage across to Queenstown (with through ticketing), leading to plenty of rivalry and price wars between other ferry operators. Initially, the railway wasn’t allowed to operate the boats directly itself, so an independent company was formed, though they obtained powers to operate them directly in 1881, and thus the vessels became part of the main firm.

It’s worth noting that, unlike many railways, the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway did not operate freight services at this stage.

Change of terminus in Cork city

The location of the terminus at City Park was often criticised due to being less than convenient to the city centre, and in the 1870s, a new terminus was opened at Albert Street. This made it closer to the city centre and practically adjacent to the Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway’s terminus at Albert Quay, making for easier interchange possibilities. 

Extension of the railway to Crosshaven, and conversion to narrow gauge

In the late 1890s, the Cork Blackrock & Passage Railway commenced construction on an extension to Crosshaven. This was over 9 miles long, more than doubling the length of the railway. It was decided to build this extension as a 3ft narrow gauge line,  and to convert the existing standard gauge route to match.

The extension was opened in phases, with the first part, from Passage to Monkstown, opening in 1902, with Carrigaline being reached the following year, prior to completion through to Crosshaven in 1904. This extension included some significant civil engineering features, including a tunnel near Passage West and an impressive viaduct at Crosshaven. Stations were also opened at Glenbrook and Rafeen.

A Lawrence Collection postcard image of Crosshaven station with a solitary narrow gauge bogie carriage present.

The section between Cork and Blackrock was doubled as part of the narrow gauge conversion, which was highly unusual for a narrow gauge railway in these islands. The original standard gauge locomotives were sold on, and four narrow gauge 2-4-2 tank engines were purchased. These were built by Neilson Reid of Glasgow and followed on in the numbering sequence from their standard gauge predecessors, being numbered 4-7. This was also slightly unusual in that on other lines, such as the Tralee & Dingle Railway, there was precedent for numbers being reused as older engines were retired.

Another change that coincided with the conversion to narrow gauge was that, for the first time in the company’s history, goods wagons were purchased and freight services commenced on the line.

Tumultuous years for the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway

The line may have reached its zenith in the first decade of the 20th century, but that was all about to change. The onset of WWI was the start of a tumultuous period for the railway, with restrictions on non-essential passenger travel impacting the line’s income severely, bearing in mind a lot of its business came from tourist traffic. Its proximity to the naval base at Haulbowline meant that Crosshaven station was closed for security reasons. The demand for ships during the war also hindered its ability to provide a ferry service. As a wartime measure, Irish railways came under government control from January 1917, and this saw an improvement in finances, with some compensation being provided. In 1918, the commencement of workmen’s trains to serve Haulbowline increased traffic to the point that an additional engine, Alice, was temporarily drafted in from the County Donegal Railways, to which she returned in 1921.

The outbreak of the Civil War in 1922 would see the railway attacked on numerous occasions, with signal boxes burnt down and bridges damaged, including the viaduct at Douglas, along with the works at Passage. This was ultimately all rebuilt, but had a serious impact on the line’s finances.

The Great Southern Railways merger

In 1925, along with most other public railway lines located entirely within what was then known as the Irish Free State, the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway was amalgamated into the Great Southern Railways (GSR), with the locos and rolling stock receiving the suffix ‘P’ after their number, for e.g., locomotive No.4 became 4P, etc. The GSR merger marked the beginning of the end for the line. (You can find out more about the GSR merger in our article here).

The GSR was forced to make economic measures across its system in the 1920s, and the Passage line did not escape these. The double-track line between Cork and Blackrock was reduced to single in 1927. Development in motorised road transport technology during WWI had led to increased competition from buses. It has also been suggested that with the GSR now also controlling the former Great Southern & Western Railway route to Cobh, there was little sense in it essentially maintaining a competing route to the same location via Passage and the ferry.

This situation was not sustainable, and the GSR closed the line between Monkstown and Crosshaven on 31st May 1932, with the line between Cork and Monkstown lingering on until 10th September, when it too closed. Thus, rail services between Cork and Passage ended after 82 years. It’s strange to think that the section to Crosshaven lasted for less than 30 years. 

A photo from the Cork Examiner depicting the last train on the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway.

The locomotives and some of the goods stock would have a reprieve, being transferred by the GSR to the former Cavan & Leitrim Railway in 1934; the engines were renumbered 10l to 13l to fit in that section’s numbering system, where they were found to be quite useful hauling coal trains. While 11L was scrapped in 1939, the other three remained in service into the 1950s.

The line itself had been lifted by 1934, but much of the formation has since been renovated as part of Cork’s greenway network, and several structures remain in place as a reminder of the railway that once was. 

While it only operated for 82 years, the opening of the Cork, Blackrock & Passage Railway was a major development in the history and development of Cork. Its later conversion to a (partly double-tracked) commuter suburban narrow gauge railway was perhaps unique in these islands and arguably ahead of its time. Do keep an eye out for its remnants next time you’re in the area.