Locomotive 461 as viewed from Mullingar Cabin, 14 years Difference.
Here’s a view of steam locomotive 461 on a Railway Preservation Society Ireland trip in April 2000, compared with similar views of the same locomotive from the same cabin, in March 2014.
In the interval, the railway has changed, and Mullingar has expanded. The junction was simplified in 2003, and mini CTC signaling installed in 2005.
Locomotive 461 shunts a carriage in Mullingar on April 21 2000.Compare this view from Mullingar cabin exposed on March 25, 2014, with the above image made 14 years earlier. Both were made of the same locomotive, from the same window, at essentially the same place.An overall view of the scene at Mullingar framed by the window of the signal cabin on March 25, 2014. Exposed with a Lumix LX3. The ‘double junction’ for route diverging at the right for the Galway road were removed with the 2003 simplification. The old junction was a carry over from when Mullingar was on the main route from Dublin (Broadstone) to Galway as built by the Midland Great Western. (In modern times, trains from Dublin to Galway have run from Dublin Heuston via Portarlington to Athlone.)
Locomotive 461 arrives at Mulligar on March 23, 2014.
In its heyday, Mullingar was an important station on the old Midland Great Western Railway. Here, the large signal cabin controlled the junction between Sligo and Galway routes. There were goods yards and locomotive sheds. It was a busy place.
Today, it’s little more than a big station serving Irish Rail’s Sligo Line. Yet, vestiges of its former glory remain. While the double line junction at the Dublin-end of the station was removed in 2003, and the signal cabin ceased to function as a block post on the Sligo line in 2005, the cabin remains. So do the platforms for the old Galway Road.
The Galway road continues toward Athlone, but vanishes into the weeds after it leaves the station. It has been more than a decade since the last train traveled the line, and that was only the annual weed-spraying run.
Semaphores and other antique infrastructure dot the plant.
The arrival of locomotive 461 allowed me opportunity to photograph the signal cabin and the old Galway side of Mulligar Station.
For me this was a flashback. Not to the glory days of the Midland Great Western, but to the late 1990s early 2000s, when I first visited Mullingar. So much had changed since then, yet so much more remains at Mullingar than many other places on Irish Rail.
Here’s just a few photos from the many images I exposed on Sunday, March 23, 2014.
Levers in Mullingar Cabin.Mullingar Cabin.Locomotive 461 as viewed from Mullingar Cabin.Driver Ken Fox at Mullingar.On the platforms at Mullingar.Looking west on the old Galway Road, Mullingar cabin and station on the right.461 navigates the old yard. Here a few mechanical semaphores remain active.461 goes for spin on the turntable at Mullingar.The light changed from sunny to hazy. 461 works back up through the old yard.Resting on the disused Galway side of Mullingar station, 461 takes water in preparation for its run back to Dublin.Visions of another era. Lumix LX3 photo.On the footplate.
When photographing a special train, I like to make the first photograph of the day count as one of the best.
Railway Preservation Society Ireland operated locomotive 461 with an excursion from Dublin Connolly Station to Mullingar on the old Midland route.
This railway was built along the banks of the Royal Canal, and canal-side running characterizes the line.
Locomotive 461 works west along the Royal Canal near Enfield on March 23, 2014. Exposed with a Canon EOS 7D fitted with a 20mm lens and firmly mounted on a Bogan tripod. Focus and exposure set manually.
Hugh Dempsey and I set out from Dublin about an hour ahead of the train, and selected this spot as one of the best.
The sun and clouds cooperated nicely. Yet, the extreme contrast of the scene require a bit of post-processing to control contrast. I made a variety of small changes to adjust the image, including both global and localized contrast adjustment.
