Sir, - I refer to your recent issue (March 22nd) where you reprinted a letter concerning the Dublin and Kingstown Railway from your issue of March 22nd, 1926. In addition to the facts outlined in this letter there are a number of items of historical interest to which I wish to draw your readers attention.
The material used in the construction of the original Dublin and Kingstown Railway (granite sleepers and steel rails) was subsequently utilised in the construction of an engine shed. This engine shed stands to the south of Pearse Station, the fact that it is still in use today is a tribute to the quality of that early permanent way material. Sadly, this building is now threatened with demolition to make way for a DART station at Barrow Street.
Across the tracks from the engine shed stands the workshop of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway, the successor to the Dublin and Kingstown Railway. Although now gutted and derelict, this fine stone faced building houses a workshop where locomotives for the Dublin and Kingstown and latterly the Dublin and South Eastern Railways were built. This building is also scheduled for demolition, it forms part of the Dublin Meat Packers site which is due for redevelopment".
In contrast to our inheritance from this Victorian era (which we are intent on destroying) I shudder to think of the physical structures we will consign to future generations. The millennium clock - The Anna Livia of O'Connell Street! - Yours, etc.,
Scholarstown Road,
Dublin 16.