The West Clare Railway (WCR) was a railway company operating in County Clare, Ireland. This narrow-gauge (1067 mm — 3 ft) route operated from the county town, Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush and Kilkee (the routes diverging at Moyasta Junction). The system connected with the mainline rail system at Ennis, where a station still stands today for buses and train services to Limerick. Intermediate stops were at such places as Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown Malbay . The system was initially dogged by poor service and timekeeping, but this later improved, with diesel services arriving in the 1950s under the management of CIÉ (the State transport company at that time). Unfortunately, the system was still closed at the end of the decade.

The West Clare Railway was the topic of Percy French's song "Are Ye Right There Michael, are ye right?", deriding the poor timekeeping and poor track quality of the time. Though amusing, some complained that this jesting nevertheless did little to further the cause for keeping the line open.

An effort was started to attempt to recreate part of the original route, with the startup of a preservation society. This group succeeded in acquiring Moyasta station, as well as 5 km (3 miles) of trackbed.

See also

• History of rail transport in Ireland

External link

• WCR preservation page