Tralee & Dingle Light Railway Third Class Carriages 7T and 10T:
There are several former Tralee and Dingle Railway carriages on site, dating from 1890 (7T) and 1891 (10T) by the Bristol Wagon and Carriage Works for the Tralee and Dingle Light Railway. The railway ran the 31 miles from Tralee to Dingle from 1891 and took a leisurely 2.5 hours to complete. In 1939 the section closed to passengers, the carriages were transferred to the West Clare section for further use.
7T is currently being restored to serviceable condition and is currently in Cumbria, with the bogies and chassis being attended to. Details on donating can be sought here.
When the West Clare section was dieselised in the 1950's the carriages became redundant, they were then sold off as bodies and used as holiday homes and huts. Number 7 and 10 became huts for drainage contractor Gerry Walsh. Micheal Kennedy recovered the carriages quite by accident. He was giving a lift to a passer by and they mentioned their dad had carriages in the garden, Micheal went to inspect and he couldn't believe what he had found. The carriages were acquired, 10T remains in its recovered condition complete with interior. Unfortunately 7T's body suffered from rot and requires rebuilding. We have a member in the UK who will take the body on as a volunteer project, we require funding for the woodwork.
Updates on the project will be posted here, please give what you can. This will be a unique project and will allow us to give visitors a true experience of the irish narrow gauge.
Historical Images:
The big move:
An original T&D bogie was funded as part of The Heritage Council Community Grant Scheme 2020, the chassis restoration is also being funded by the Community Grant Scheme 2023.
