On December 8 1851 the Ballinhassig to Cork section of the West Cork Railway opened. Prior to this some 300 men were tasked with working day and night to construct Goggins Hill tunnel. This tunnel along with the huge Chetwynd Viaduct were two huge engineering challenges for the time. Sadly they both now sit abandoned.
Goggins Hill tunnel has 3 ventilation shafts. Sporadic sections are brick lined due to collapses. This now creates a lovely change between rock and brick arches. At 828 metres it is the longest abandoned railway tunnel in the Republic of Ireland.
The West Cork Railway officially closed on March 31 1961.
Its been ages since I've tried to photograph anything like this and even with a decent torch and my flash I struggled to get the pictures I was after. The ventilation shafts look beautiful with water cascading down to the tunnel floor and I really tried but blah. There are some lovely colour/texture changes in this tunnel and I thought it was an interesting one worth sharing on here.
The first section is a huge brick lined affair.
Which eventually changes to the natural rock.
Here is the first ventilation shaft.
And my attempts at capturing the water falling through...
After a nice mooch on through to almost the end we head back the way we came...
Thanks for looking, Bug.
Goggins Hill tunnel has 3 ventilation shafts. Sporadic sections are brick lined due to collapses. This now creates a lovely change between rock and brick arches. At 828 metres it is the longest abandoned railway tunnel in the Republic of Ireland.
The West Cork Railway officially closed on March 31 1961.
Its been ages since I've tried to photograph anything like this and even with a decent torch and my flash I struggled to get the pictures I was after. The ventilation shafts look beautiful with water cascading down to the tunnel floor and I really tried but blah. There are some lovely colour/texture changes in this tunnel and I thought it was an interesting one worth sharing on here.
The first section is a huge brick lined affair.
Which eventually changes to the natural rock.
Here is the first ventilation shaft.
And my attempts at capturing the water falling through...
After a nice mooch on through to almost the end we head back the way we came...
Thanks for looking, Bug.