I visited Clonsilla today as part of my “Royal Canal” project. As I have never visited this exact location before I have little personal knowledge of the area.
The station opened on 1 September 1848 and was closed for goods traffic on 17 June 1963. The footbridge at Clonsilla was originally located at the former railway station in Listowel, County Kerry. Between here and Leixlip Confey is what is left of the old Lucan North station (also known as Coldblow) which closed on 8 October 1941. All that remains of the station is a small red brick building on the bank between the tracks and the canal. This building was a waiting room. The station was opposite this but has become a private residence and has been extended and renovated.
The station is one of the original four Western Commuter stations which became part of the line on its inception in November 1981, the others being Ashtown (opened January 1982), Leixlip Louisa Bridge and Maynooth.
On 2 September 2010, the original Dunboyne branch line reopened as the M3 Parkway commuter branch line. The junction is just to the west of Clonsilla station.
The station underwent an upgrade in 2000 that saw the platforms lengthened and a new station building being constructed. The ticket office is open from 06:00 AM to 14:00 PM, Monday to Friday. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
In 2012, the station was further upgraded with a new footbridge and escalator, refurbished station building, new platform surfaces and construction of platform 3. Platform 3 is used for a shuttle train service between Clonsilla and M3 Parkway.
The level crossing is still a gated crossing, operated from a wheel in the signal cabin.
Clonsilla station lies on the Dublin Connolly to Maynooth and the Dublin Docklands to M3 Parkway (peak times only
Dublin Bus 39 and 239 services stop outside the station providing connections with the Blanchardstown area and Lucan.
You may notice many hawthorn trees [whitethorn] in my photographs so I should mention that traditionally, no one cuts the lone hawthorn tree as this is the meeting places of the fairies. Through history many planned roads and pathways were re-routed to avoid cutting one down. Hawthorn is generally seen as a tree which brings good luck to the owner and prosperity to the land where it stands. My family always referred to them as May Bushes.
I actually went to the wrong location so did not manage to photograph the actual spa but I will visit again within a few days.
The waterfall was not very exciting exciting and as there had been a thunder storm just before I arrived the ground was very slippy and muddy in the immediate area.
The Leixlip Spa situated close to the Royal Canal, Ireland at Louisa Bridge was discovered in 1793 by a group of workmen excavating for the canal. William Conolly, who acquired Leixlip Castle in 1732, planned to develop the spa into a classical thermal spa, but to no avail.
The spa waters bubble from the ground at a constant 23.9 degrees Celsius (75 degrees F) and drain into the Rye River below. The spa was widely used over the years[when?] but since the 1960s it has fallen into disrepair. To preserve the spa, a committee was set up from members of Leixlip Town Council, Kildare County Council, An Taisce, Duchas and the Irish National History Museum.
A WALK ALONG COOLMINE ROAD FROM THE RAILWAY STATION TO CLONSILLA ROAD JUNCTION
This is an area of Dublin that know little about and I had less than 30 minutes to photograph the area because of heavy rain so I visited again two days later and I will the photographs later this week.
I must admit that I expected to see a more useable pathway maybe it is better on the other side … I will investigate soon.
Coolmine railway station serves Coolmine, County Dublin, Ireland. It lies on the Dublin to Maynooth and Dublin Docklands to M3 Parkway railway station commuter routes.
When I visited the times of the electronic display were incorrect but the information via my iPhone was accurate.
Coolmine railway station serves Coolmine, County Dublin, Ireland. It lies on the Dublin to Maynooth and Dublin Docklands to M3 Parkway railway station commuter routes.
A large car park is located next to the station, making it a popular park and ride location.
The station was opened on 2 July 1990, along with Broombridge, Castleknock, and Leixlip Confey. Like the latter three of these stations it underwent an upgrade project in 2000 which led to the portacabin booking office being replaced by a permanent station building and the platforms being lengthened. The ticket office is open from 06:30 to 13:00, Monday to Friday. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday [I assume that the station is operational at weekends].
This is an area of Dublin that know little about and I had less than 30 minutes to photograph the area because of heavy rain so I will need to visit again.
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