Dublin’s Heuston Station, April 9, 2013.

Trans-Atlantic Exchange.

Irish Rail’s Tony Cooke and Amtrak’s Douglas Kydd at Heuston Station with Intercity Rail Car 22311. Lumix LX-3 photo.

Click here for views of Irish Rail 077 in the new livery!

I featured Dublin’s Heuston Station in my 2002 book, Railway Masterpieces. Here’s a an excerpt of my text:

Located near the Guinness Brewery along the south bank of the River Liffey, Dublin’s Heuston Station is a classic example of a railway terminal from the dawn of the railway age. Despite its age it still serves as one of the city’s primary railway stations and is among the oldest railway stations in continuous use in the world. Few stations have survived from the formative age of railways, and far fewer city terminals exist from this period.

“The Dublin terminal was formerly known as Kingsbridge and was renamed in 1966, along with many other stations in Ireland, as a commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the Easter Rising. At this time, railway stations were renamed in honor of participants in the Rising who had been executed by British authorities in the aftermath of the event, so this station is named for Sean Heuston.”

On April 9, 2013, I facilitated a short tour of Heuston for visiting Amtrak locomotive engineer Douglas Kydd who was on vacation in Ireland with his Fiancée. Among the highlights was the opportunity to inspect one Irish Rail’s newest trains.