Grand Canal Street railway works


Grand Canal Street railway works, also known as The Factory, served the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, its successors the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway and the Dublin and South Eastern Railway. It was preceded by a small "engine hospital" maintenance depot at Serpentine Avenue.

History

The D&KR had initially set up an "Engine Hospital" for the servicing of locomotives at Serpentine Avenue, about south west of past the River Dodder where railway cottages were subsequently built. The Serpentine depot had two sections, one for the three engines from Robert Sharps, initially supported by their engineer Francis Wrigley, and the three from Forresters supported by their man Alexander Allan.
The works was bought in 1840, engine and carriage repair having previously been carried out since 1834 at Serpentine Avenue.
The workshop was the former two-story Dock located on the south side of the railway between the now narrowed Grand Canal Dock, Barrow Street, and Upper Grand Canal Street. There was a locomotive shed on the opposite side of the railway to the works. The station which opened in 2001 lies a little towards the side of the former works.
On 4 April 1841 it achieved a world first by being the first railway company owned workshop to build a locomotive, the 2-2-2T Princess. It produced its last locomotive in 1911.
With no lifting crane and poor workshop layout, the works was increasingly stretched by larger locomotives, shortages from the First World War and damages due to the Irish Civil War.
It was closed in 1925 following the amalgamation of the railways of Ireland to form the Great Southern Railways.

Locomotive superintendents

Grand Canal Street and its predecessor Serpentine Road had the following locomotive superintendents who may have been under related titles and had additional responsibilities: