Dublin and Lucan Steam Tramway Company

Operation

Locale

Dublin, Lucan

Open

1880

1897

Status

Closed

Infrastructure

Track gauge

3 ft (914 mm)

Propulsion system(s)

Steam

Statistics

Route length

7 miles (11 km)

Dublin and Lucan Steam Tramway Company era: 1880–1897
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Propulsion system(s)	Steam

Dublin and Lucan Electric Railway Company era: 1897–1925
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Propulsion system(s)	Electric

The Dublin and Lucan Steam Tramway operated a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge steam tramway service between Dublin and Lucan between 1880 and 1897. The company was renamed as the Dublin and Lucan Electric Railway Company and steam power was replaced by electricity in 1897. This service ran until 1925.

The first public reference to this tramway scheme was in the Irish Times on 19 April 1880, wherein it was reported that the County Dublin Grand Jury had a proposal before them for the building of the line.

The Dublin and Lucan Steam Tramway (DLST) was authorised by an Order in Council under the Tramways Act. A prospectus appeared in the Irish Times on 27 November 1880. The capital was £30,000, comprising 3,000 shares of £10 each, with borrowing powers of £10,000 on the debentures. The board of management comprised:

Construction commenced on 23 December 1880 and work progressed rapidly such that construction to Chapelizod was complete mostly by 23 May 1881. Mostly on a roadside reservation, the initial services began to Chapelizod on 1 June 1881.

One of the steam trams they obtained was from the Nottingham company of Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. to the patented design of Edward Perrett. It was delivered on a trial basis in the hope of inducing its purchase by the company. This vehicle was a double decker of 2-4-2 type, with vertical coke-fired boilers on the end platforms. The two cylinders and engine were positioned beneath the floor of the saloon. The vehicle weight was 9 tons (with passengers 10½ tons), and the price was £950.

By the time of the first half-yearly meeting of the new company on 5 July 1881, construction had reached Palmerstown and services began in November 1881. Two additional engines had been ordered from Kitson and Company, as well as passenger vehicles and wagons.

A depot was completed at Conyngham Road, opposite the terminus, on land known as the Long Meadows. There was some difficulty in the finance for the remaining section of the line. Eventually a loan of £10,000 was negotiated with the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland and services began to Lucan on 20 February 1883.

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