Empty carriages cross a dormant railway.

A decade ago, David Hegarty and I made a project of photographing Irish Rail’s South Wexford line between Rosslare Strand and Waterford.

Sugar Beet traffic ended in January 2006, and regular passenger services were withdrawn five years ago in September 2010.

Yesterday, RailTours Ireland’s Emerald Isle Express (operated in cooperation with the Railway Preservation Society Ireland and Irish Rail) ran as a train of empty carriages across the line. This was probably the first train in months to use the scenic route.

Maximum speed was 15 mph.

Mark Healy and I were among the photographers on site to witness this very unusual move.

In addition to these digital photos, I exposed a handful of colour slides, you know, for posterity.

Tracking the Light posts Regularly!