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In days gone by, if you wanted to travel from Castleconnell to Limerick City, there were two methods of transport. A horse-drawn coach which left regularly from the village centre or the steam train from the railway station direct into Limerick’s Colbert Station.
The railway station in Castleconnell opened on 8 August 1858 and the station house was built in 1860. It was, and still is, a single-track railway which today runs between Limerick and Ballybrophy in Co. Laois calling at Castleconnell, Birdhill, Nenagh, Cloughjordan and Roscrae.
The railway line was built in stages. The northern part from Ballybrophy to Roscrae was opened in 1857 by the Great Southern & Western Railway (GS&WR) and was extended to Cloughjordan and Nenagh in 1863.
Meanwhile, the Limerick and Castleconnell Railway opened its line from Killonan to Castleconnell in 1858 diverging from the Waterford and Limerick line. It was extended to Birdhill in 1860 and four years later, the GS&WR closed the gap between Nenagh and Birdhill. This became a through direct line between Dublin and Limerick as an alternative to the earlier route via Limerick Junction.
The branch line came under full control of the GS&WR in 1901, and became part of the Great Southern Railways in 1924. In 1945, ownership was transferred to Cόras Iompair Éireann (CIÉ).
In the mid 20th century, two freight only sidings were opened in the Birdhill to Nenagh section of the railway. The first to open in 1966, was a 1¼ mile spur which served the ore mines west of Silvermines. It closed in 1993 when the mines closed. The second spur opened in 1982 to serve a shale quarry at Kilmastulla with the goods being carried in wagons to Castlemungret Cement Works. It remained open until 2009.
Castleconnell is a single platform railway station which today offers a limited passenger service. The signal cabin at the north end of the station still stands and is adjacent to the level crossing which is manually operated. The station car park was built on the former goods yard and sidings.
In 2018, the village held an evening of celebration for the 160-year anniversary of the Castleconnell Railway station.
