Great Southern and Western Railway
Major railway company in Ireland (1844–1924) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland from 1844[2] until 1924.[3] The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the largest of Ireland's "Big Four" railway networks. At its peak the GS&WR had an 1,100-mile (1,800 km) network, of which 240 miles (390 km) were double track.[4]
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![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Great_Southern_and_Western_Railway_-_1902_British_Isles_routemap_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_19329.jpg/640px-Great_Southern_and_Western_Railway_-_1902_British_Isles_routemap_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_19329.jpg)
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![]() 1920 map of the railway | |
Overview | |
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Dates of operation | 1844–31 December 1924 |
Successor | Great Southern Railways |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) |
Length | 1,148 miles 2 chains (1,847.6 km) (1919)[1] |
Track length | 1,554 miles 58 chains (2,502.1 km) (1919)[1] |
The core of the GS&WR was the Dublin Kingsbridge – Cork main line; Ireland's "Premier Line", and still one of her most important main line railways. The company's headquarters were at Kingsbridge station. At its greatest extent the GS&WR included, in addition to the Dublin – Cork main line, the Dublin – Waterford and Mallow – Waterford lines and numerous branch lines.