The Dublin rail service before DART

There's a fair few old reminiscences on here, but extensively from users that have been banned! It is nearing 40 years now since DART started so those who remember using it as a commuter are going to be approaching retirement age.

In the latter years it was operated by early 50s former DMUs that had had their power trains removed and converted to push-pull operation; and the carriage interiors removed and replaced with basically stacking parish hall chairs bolted down both sides. It was exceptionally unreliable and train lengths depended on what stock could be bodged in to working on a given day. The introduction of Maynooth services in late 1981 would have reduced the pool even more.

There were slightly fewer stations - e.g Salthill had closed in the 60s and was reopened for DART. Journey times were quite similar or marginally quicker; if the trains ran to schedule that is - the faster acceleration of electric trains being cancelled out with more stops.

Can't find a timetable for frequency, but DART was built to allow 10 minute which was never possible before between signalling and lack of stock. However for most of its life it hasn't run at a 10 minute frequency.

I used to get the old diesel trains into secondary school back into the day. A very different experience to the DART which is better in every way that counts. I remember the family taking the Dart when it opened from Dalkey to Howth and back to Bray then back to Dalkey, quite a trip! They were unreliable. One lasting memory I have is of the derailment in Dalkey, I was quite small then but remember it being the only thing my parents talked about for weeks.

Not only were they dirty, uncomfortable and unreliable, there were also some very slack working arrangements, as the investigation into the accident at Gormanstown in 1974 uncovered.

The Push Pulls definitely ran to Drogheda. Sometime in 1980 I went out via the 1100 Enterprise to Drogheda in NIR’s Mark II stock and came back via Push Pull. Half an hour one way, one hour return. I was in the driving trailer and the blinds were up giving me a panoramic view in reverse!

The absolute crap stock really all died off in the early 80s as the MkIIIs came in from 84 also. The DMU-derived push pull carriages and remaining wooden / wood framed carriages could go.

That allowed pretty much everything except the Greystones shuttle to be operated by Park Royals or newer; and those went with the 2600s in the early 90s.

The situation we have now of heavily refurbished early 80s EMU stock being the oldest on the network (and still very reliable); with those to be replaced soon and everything else newer really is incomparable.

some of the old rolling stock continued to provide the shuttle service to Greystones for many years after the Dart was launched until it was scrapped for safety reasons - Greystonians referred to it as the Scuttle. That service was then operated by leased NI stock for few years in the 90s before being discontinued altogether (or replaced by a bus service possibly - either way the Dart was eventually extended)

Colm McCarthy, there is only one rule when dealing with this fool: EVERYTHING HE STATES IS BULLSHIT.

He was already a dinosaur in the early 1970s, in 2020 he is our own version of Jurrasic Park. Even so, all the Alkies and Cokeheads in Irish 'journalism'/TV/Radio still quote him like he is the only authority on how to run a city.

i would agree.

we are certainly in a much much better place now, however of course there is still a hell of a lot of work to do.

I used to get the trains to/from School in the late 70's (Raheny to Landsdown Road). An Eclectic mix of stock, My favourite were the the corridor coaches.

I also remember, Tara (and all stations south of it) closing early saturday afternoon's.

The DART project or Dublin Rail Rapid Transit project as it was at the time proposed two tunnels:

• A tunnel starting branching off at Sandymount to a Broadstone to Liffey Junction (the Blanchardstown line)
• A tunnel from Heuston under the Quays and then joining the Belfast line at East Wall (the Ronanstown line)

Little has changed really, 50 years later the plan is much the same, except its a horrible hybrid mess of tram/metro/train.

The two usual suspects in Colm McCarthy and Sean Barrett hate rail investment, the DART covered its running costs for many years in the 1990's which they will never acknowledge as an outstanding success for a system which was only a third built.

Going further back pre DART stations had toilets, even little least used Seapoint

Basically no weekend service at all except the Summer

That first morning in July 1984 must have been an experience to jump from the 1950's to 1980's (evening wasn't great as not enough drivers)

Yes they were intended for the Metroliner EMUs between Boston and Washington. They became the Amfleet cars and having rode them many time they were excellent and comfortable.

This is a map of that plan