In 1 840, one man transformed travel In BrItaIn and Ireland.
HIs name was George Bradshaw,
and hIs raIlway guIdes InspIred the VIctorIans to take to the tracks.
Stop by stop,
he told them where to travel,
what to see and where to stay.
Now, 1 70 years later,
I'm makIng a serIes ofjourneys across the length and breadth of these Islands
to see what of Bradshaw's world remaIns.
My trusty Bradshaw's GuIde has aIready Ied me
on deIightfuI journeys throughout EngIand, ScotIand and WaIes.
But now, for the first time, I've crossed the Irish sea,
for when Bradshaw's DescrIptIve RaIlway Handbook of Great BrItaIn and Ireland
was pubIished in the 1860s, Britain and IreIand were a singIe state.
And now I'm set to expIore a whoIe new isIand of raiIway stories.
On thIs leg, I'll be explorIng a darIng feat of engIneerIng,
buIlt by the father of IrIsh raIlways...
So now I see the first of these remarkabIe tunneIs ahead.
We're going to pIunge straight through the rock.
..vIsItIng a VIctorIan prIson that played host to raIlway crImInals...
There was a chiId here of nine years of age
for pIaying marbIes on a train and annoying passengers.
..and hearIng how even anImals embraced traIn travel In the age of steam...
The giraffe was far too taII in its cart to get under each bridge,
so they created a padded sIiding roof and as it approached each bridge,
the sIiding roof gentIy cIosed.
ThIs long journey begIns near DublIn, where thIs Island's raIlways were born,
then follows theIr expansIon northwards.
CrossIng Into Northern Ireland, I'll explore BeIfast's IndustrIal herItage
before experIencIng the stunnIng coast, fInIshIng up In Derry/Londonderry.
ThIs stretch covers 1 7 mIles,
passIng through the rocky outcrop of Bray Head on my way to DublIn
where I'll explore raIlways that radIate from the cIty.
I'm startIng on a breathtakIng lIne
that skIrts the east coast between WIcklow and DublIn.
I'm Iooking forward to seeing both the RepubIic and Northern IreIand
through the eyes of a 19th-century traveI writer.
My Bradshaw's is enthusiastic about the Iandscape,
saying that ''particuIarIy on the sea coast,
it assumes a spIendid variety of scenery,
not to be surpassed in any part of the isIand''.
''The mountains and rocky eIevations are here magnificentIy boId
and Bray Head itseIf commands an extensive view.''
But this dramatic topography presented a formidabIe chaIIenge
to the raiIway buiIder.
ThIs lIne was buIlt to connect DublIn wIth the ports on the east coast,
but the proposed route meant traversIng the rocky headland of Bray Head,
near the WIcklow mountaIns.
I'm leavIng the traIn at Greystones StatIon to take a closer look.
I've come to discover more about this beautifuI stretch of raiIway
passing through this infamous terrain,
and the remarkabIe engineer who achieved it.
The best place to get to grIps wIth the sheer scale of the challenge
Is up on the paths that clIng to Bray Head's clIffs.
It's where I'm meetIng raIlway hIstorIan BrIan Mac Aonghusa.
- HeIIo, Brian. - HeIIo, MichaeI, good morning.
This must be one of the most spectacuIar pieces of raiIway Iine
that I can think of.
I think it is in IreIand. We're very proud of it
because a Iot of work went into the buiIding of this.
This hiII, caIIed Bray Head, contains Pre-Cambrian rock
and it's one of the hardest rocks to driII through.
And the man who succeeded in doing it
was a very famous buiIder of Irish raiIways.
He's known as the father of Irish raiIways, WiIIiam Dargan.
WIllIam Dargan was a seIf-taught entrepreneur and engIneer
who constructed more raIlway lInes In 19th-century Ireland
than any other buIlder.
But he wasn't Involved wIth the Bray Head project at Its outset.
When the lIne was fIrst proposed, It was the EnglIsh engIneer
Isambard Kingdom Brunel who took up the gauntlet.
It was designed by BruneI, and BruneI started it in 1847,
but the company couId not raise sufficient capitaI after the famine.
And there was great difficuIty in organising men, organising the works.
The Great FamIne began wIth the faIlure of the potato harvest In the mId-1 840s,
and became so severe that almost an eIghth of the populatIon perIshed.
MakIng only short vIsIts from England to supervIse the works,
and remote from the harsh local realItIes,
Brunel and hIs contractor ran Into trouble.
By 1 848, work had stopped.
But luckIly, Ireland's home-grown raIlway pIoneer, WIllIam Dargan,
stepped Into the breach.
(BrIan) Dargan had achieved great notoriety for his achievements
in buiIding raiIways aII over IreIand by that time.
In the interests of the deveIopment of IreIand, the deveIopment of the peopIe,
he said he wouId do it ithout accepting cash.
He agreed to accept shares or bonds in the company
rather than be paid for the work. Most unusuaI for such an astute person.
WIllIam Dargan was horrIfIed by the mIsery wrought by the famIne.
He encouraged raIlway buIldIng,
belIevIng that progress offered Ireland the chance of better tImes.
He recruited the men he wanted and if they were undernourished,
he wouId pay them one week's wages in advance
and teII them to come back working when they had buiIt up their strength.
Now, this went down extremeIy weII ith peopIe.
They admired him for that and aIso, if peopIe were in distress,
he was incIined to heIp them ith a IittIe cash.
And he became known as ''the man ith his hand in his pocket.''
At Bray Head, Dargan contInued to work closely wIth Brunel,
and by the mId 1 850s had fInIshed thejob.
It took 500 men to tunnel through the Pre-CambrIan rock.
But lookIng at the project today,
one of the tunnels appears to be dIsused.
(BrIan) That was the originaI tunneI.
The originaI tunneI, which was when the Iine was first buiIt by Dargan,
aIong this stretch of coast.
And he buiIt that tunneI as weII as five others between here and Greystones.
And why are they disused now, then?
Because the Iine had to be moved inIand
because of erosion and the coIIapse of originaI wooden bridges
which traversed the gorges here.
But after about 60 years, it had to be abandoned
and a new Iine had to be bored, as you can see from the other tunneI.
The lIne has sInce become known as Brunel's Folly
and It's certaInly had Its faIr share of problems.
These days, hIgh-tech equIpment guards agaInst rock falls
and clIff defences have been buIlt to prevent erosIon.
DespIte all the expense and effort Involved,
I'm very glad that the lIne stIll follows the same course,
provIdIng passengers wIth a magnIfIcent vIew,
whIch I'm about to see from a fresh perspectIve.
Now, what I have here is one of my favourite things in the worId.
This is a cab pass. This entitIes me to ride ith the driver.
As Iong as I don't disturb him too much, of course.
ThIs Is one of the IntercIty traIns that ply thIs lIne,
and It's whIskIng me towards DublIn.
It's a very, very smooth ride. You're aIIowed to go how fast aIong here?
- 60 miIes an hour. - 60 miIes an hour?
So even though it's an ancient bit of track,
through very chaIIenging geography and battered by storms,
- you can stiII go at a good speed. - (drIver) We're aIIowed 60 up to here
and once we enter the first tunneI, it's 40 miIes an hour.
So now I see the first of these remarkabIe tunneIs ahead.
We're going to pIunge straight through this head of Iand.
Straight through the rock.
Any idea how Iong this tunneI is, Robbie?
It's about three-quarters of a miIe.
Three-quarters of a miIe, the first one. Dropping your speed down.
PassIng through In one of these modern traIns takesjust a few seconds,
but dIggIng out thIs rock wIth the most rudImentary equIpment
must have been an epIc task.
So this brief moment of dayIight between one tunneI and the next,
this is what I was Iooking down on before
when I was up there on Bray Head. And back into the tunneI we go!
(horn beeps)
What the passenger sees on this raiIway
is the most stunningIy beautifuI view of mountain and of sea.
And what I think of is the fantastic engineering achievement
and how this formidabIe topography had to be dominated
to buiId this raiIway Iine.
I'm now takIng a back seat agaIn to contInue my journey.
My beautifuI intercity train is now entering DubIin
and my Bradshaw's teIIs me that it's the capitaI of IreIand
and the second city of the British isIands, on the River Liffey.
And DubIin Bay, he says,
''unfoIds one of the finest Iand and sea prospects ever beheId''.
''Rendered extremeIy picturesque by the bays and creeks
into which it is broken.''
My chief interest in DubIin is as the origin,
the birthpIace, of the raiIways in IreIand.
My traIn termInates at one of the cIty's fIne VIctorIan statIons.
ConnoIIy Station in DubIin. I've been Iooking forward to seeing this
because I'm toId that it's a thing of beauty.
The maIn statIon opened In 1 846
and Is an ImposIng ItalIanate buIldIng In whIte granIte.
As the raIlway network rapIdly expanded, more capacIty was needed
and thIs magnIfIcent extensIon was added In 1 876.
And here it is, a gIorious structure ith beautifuI arches
in iron and in brick, and this impressive roof of gIass.
A station worthy of a capitaI city.
I'm now explorIng DublIn wIth the help of my 19th-century guIde.
It tells me,
''The appearance of DublIn Is very much Improved of late years. ''
''Streets have been wIdened, new squares skIIfully laId out
and many publIc monuments freed from buIldIngs
whIch concealed theIr beautIes. ''
But amId that apparent prosperIty there was also deprIvatIon.
Huge numbers of people arrIved In the cIty fleeIng the famIne,
and levels of poverty were among the worst In Europe.
My ''Bradshaw's GuIde'' holds a clue to the socIal problems that ensued.
I'm often surprised by the pIaces that Bradshaw's mentions
as being of possibIe interest to the tourist.
Here in DubIin, of course, it mentions bridges and churches
and fine pubIic buiIdings, but aIso KiImainham GaoI.
CrIme and punIshment were much debated In 19th-century socIety,
and when my guIdebook was publIshed, thIs prIson had just been transformed
to brIng It Into lIne wIth VIctorIan penal phIlosophy.
I'm takIng a tour wIth expert NIall BergIn.
- MichaeI. - Good to see you.
WeIcome to KiImainham GaoI.
A kind of chiIIing pIace I find it, actuaIIy.
- A very impressive space. - What's the history?
The jaiI dates back to 1 796,
when it opened as the new county jaiI for DubIin,
and it cIosed in 1924. There's an incredibIe history here.
InterestingIy, as the buiIding stands today, just two ings,
the west ing and the east ing, which we are in at the moment,
which is a Iate addition.
It's cIassic Victorian and it dates to 1861-62 period.
As cItIes rapIdly expanded In the 19th century, crIme soared.
But modern thInkers regarded punIshments lIke transportatIon
and executIon, except for murder, as barbarIc.
The answer, to expand the number of prIsons.
And between 1 842 and 1 877, 90 were buIlt or extended.
Why did the Victorians buiId it in this shape?
This is the cIassic panoptic design.
It is an aII-seeing eye and it comes from the Greek ''panopticon''.
When the prison staff were here, they couId virtuaIIy see aII the ceIIs.
It is aII about obseRVation and suRVeiIIance.
AIso the Victorians were great beIievers in the heaIing power of Iight
and aII the Victorian prisons, be it in London,
in Britain or be it in IreIand, aII have massive canopy skyIights.
They contradict themseIves in a sense,
as punishment was aII about denying them Iight
and aII the punishment ceIIs are right beIow us.
What sort of crimes were peopIe here for?
I have found a number of instances of raiIway-connected crime,
so things Iike not paying their fare
or traveIIing on a train ithout proper tickets.
There is a briIIiant incident of a gentIeman traveIIing on a buffer
and he got two weeks' imprisonment for his crime.
There was a chiId here of nine years of age
for pIaying marbIes on a train and annoying passengers.
ReaIIy interesting stuff.
The VIctorIan east wIng provIded thejaIl wIth an addItIonal 96 cells
of nIne foot by sIx foot each.
VIsItIng today, I am tryIng to ImagIne what lIfe was lIke for the prIsoners.
So here we come across an open Victorian ceII.
How many prisoners were meant to be in here?
AII ceIIs are for one person, but very rareIy did that happen.
There are records of up to two, three, four peopIe per room.
PrIsoners could have spent up to 22 hours a day In these cells
wIthout runnIng water or toIlets,
leavIng only for exercIse or hard labour.
This actuaIIy is a photograph of a typicaI ceII.
You can see the bed, sort of Iike a wooden board ith a mattress,
but during the day it was pIaced against a waII,
just for more room for the prisoner to move around.
AIso the ruIes and reguIations for the prison are here, Iisted.
You can see the vents to Iet air in. TabIe and chair. Very basic.
A chamber pot. Very, very basic.
AIso the indows are very highIy pIaced
so the prisoners are Iooking up towards heaven.
The thing of redemption again.
It's a fascInatIng InsIght Into VIctorIan penal practIce.
But KilmaInham Gaol Is remembered today
for Its role In the story of IrIsh natIonalIsm.
Rebels agaInst BrItIsh rule were ImprIsoned here
throughout thejaIl's lIfe.
But It was a 20th-century event that secured Its place In IrIsh hIstory.
This yard, this space,
this is the scene where the Ieaders of the 1916 uprising were executed.
So this is the Easter Rising, this is where there's a huge rebeIIion,
they seized many government buiIdings.
ObviousIy the rebeIIion faiIed and that faiIure Ied to the executions of 1 4...
WeII, actuaIIy, 16 men were executed,
but 1 4 in KiImainham GaoI by firing squad.
As you Iook around the yard, you see the crosses at either end
and the crosses are marking the spots where the men were shot.
DurIng the rIsIng, some 600 rebels held DublIn cIty centre for sIx days.
Around 450 people were kIlled, many of them cIvIlIans.
At fIrst, publIc opInIon was largely hostIle to the rebels.
But the crackdown that followed created sympathy for the RepublIcan cause.
These days the Easter RIsIng Is seen as a turnIng poInt
In the hIstory of IrIsh natIonalIsm.
KiImainham is one of the busiest heritage sites in IreIand today
and if we were to ask even the visitors coming through today,
''Why are you here? What do you want to know?.''
They want to Iearn the poIiticaI history of IreIand
and see the spot where these men were executed.
Now It's back to Connolly StatIon,
because I'm In search of a bed for the nIght
and I've a rather specIal hotel In mInd.
It'sjust outsIde DublIn,
In the coastal resort of Dun LoaghaIre or Dunleary.
And to get there I am takIng a servIce known to DublIners as the Dart.
On my traveIs I've often found that the earIiest raiIways
were buiIt for freight, not for passengers,
but that's not true of this particuIar Iine.
I'm traveIIing aIong tracks that were Iaid in 1834 by WiIIiam Dargan
specificaIIy for commuters.
In fact, the Irish cIaim that it's the worId's oIdest commuter raiIway.
It's stiII doing the same job today as it was in the 1830s,
and today it is part of the DubIin Area Rapid Transit.
To my excItement, thIs was also 19th-century Ireland's fIrst raIlway.
The route was chosen because a smart new harbour
had been buIlt at Dunleary, makIng It a fashIonable place to lIve.
Wealthy DublIn busInessmen soon embraced the commute,
whIch thousands of people stIll make each day.
How are you? Have you heard of WiIIiam Dargan?
Yes, I have.
- Who was he? - I don't know, but I've heard the name.
He was the engineer who buiIt this raiIway Iine.
Look how beautifuI it is here. Isn't that fantastic?
- Have you been on this raiIway before? - No, I've never been on this raiIway.
Is it mentioned in your trusty guide?
AbsoIuteIy, it's mentioned in my trusty guide.
But this is supposedIy the first commuter raiIway in the worId,
- opened in 1834. - (woman) ReaIIy?
Five thousand passengers on the first day. Isn't that a thought?
- I hope you have a wonderfuI time. - Thank you.
- Bye-bye. - Enjoy your trip.
So, DunIeary.
The Iast thing I saw from the train as I came into the station
was the harbour. We're right by the waterside, a beautifuI spot.
LuckIly for me, Dunleary's 19th-century gentrIfIcatIon
Included the buIldIng of a luxurIous new hotel.
On the first day of my Irish raiIway journey I've deveIoped
an intense admiration for WiIIiam Dargan.
He wasn't just a raiIway engineer.
He was aIso in the business of suppIying hoteIs.
And so for my first night in the RepubIic,
I've decided to stay in one of his finest.
The Royal MarIne Hotel, buIlt between 1 863 and 1 865,
even played host to Queen VIctorIa herseIf.
A fIttIng spot for me and my ''Bradshaw's GuIde'' to pass the nIght.
Day two of my journey and It's back on the Dart for me
to take a fuller look at the IrIsh capItal.
From DunIeary I'm headed once more to the heart of DubIin,
a city of which I have many memories and of which I'm very fond.
I shaII be expIoring it today using my Bradshaw's
and the tips that it gives me,
starting ith this handy map of the city from the mid-1860s.
It's wonderful to have my VIctorIan map,
but when It comes to DublIn, It's of lImIted use.
Although the layout of the cIty hasn't changed too much,
many of the street names have, reflectIng Ireland's turbulent hIstory.
Bradshaw's greatIy admired what was SackviIIe Street, ith its monument,
spIendid hoteIs and the coIumn erected in honour of Horatio NeIson.
But in this buiIding here, the Post Office,
the Easter Rising of 1916 reached its cIimax.
The coIumn of NeIson was bIown up in 1966
and a spire erected in its pIace.
And this is now O'ConneII Street,
so whiIst the generous proportions of this bouIevard have not aItered,
the names commemorated here have changed compIeteIy.
The spire's officiaI name is the Monument of Light.
Made of stainIess steeI, it reaches 120 metres into the sky.
- May I ask, are you from DubIin? - I'm from Cork.
- Are you visiting today? - No, I Iive here now.
- This spire, what do you think of that? - Opinion is divided about this.
Some peopIe feeI it wasn't the best use of resources,
but it's actuaIIy astonishing to Iook at.
There's no doubt it has a magnetic puII about it. It's beautifuI.
- You might be one of its fans, I think. - I wouIdn't go that far exactIy.
But, yes, it is nice to Iook at.
To reach my last stop on thIs leg of thejourney,
I'm usIng another feature of modern DublIn, the tram.
(machIne) Please select a tIcket type.
(MIchael) The Luas lIght raIl system opened In 2004
and carrIes 80,000 passengers per day around the cIty.
I do Iove trams, they add such personaIity to cities.
I'm so sorry that so many British cities have Iost theirs.
But pIeased too that some of them have got them back.
These ones in DubIin are reaIIy smart and new.
DublIn got Its fIrst tramway In the 1 870s, InItIally horse-drawn,
but later usIng electrIcal power.
That orIgInal system was phased out In the 1940s
and now the cIty Is proud of Its new network.
HeIIo. It's my first time on the tram.
- Do you use it much yourseIf? - OnIy when I'm visiting my sister.
Don't you think there's something more romantic about a tram than a bus?
WeII... it's very modern. Not Iike the oId trams.
(woman 2) They were good, weren't they?
You preferred the oId trams to these IoveIy modern ones?
- Why wouId you do that? - WeII, I'm oId-fashioned.
(MIchael) TeII me about the oId ones. What were the sounds?
- Did it have a beII? - Yes, a good ''bing!''
I've left the tram at Heuston StatIon, buIlt In 1 846 and recently restored.
It's one of three maIn lIne statIons In DublIn,
whIch In Bradshaw's day became the transport hub
for the whole of Ireland.
Soon the traIns were brIngIng vIsItors to a famous park
for a new and educatIonal experIence.
My Bradshaw's teIIs me that DubIin's famous Phoenix Park
''is seven miIes around and contains barracks and zooIogicaI gardens''.
Today, DublIn Zoo Is one of the cIty's most popular attractIons.
And In the early days, the raIlways helped to get It started.
I'm meetIng zoo archIvIst CatherIne de Courcy to hear the story.
I beIieve DubIin Zoo dates aII the way back to 1831 .
Was DubIin in the vanguard of zooIogicaI gardens?
It was. London Zoo was opened in 1828 and was the first purpose-buiIt zoo,
and a Iot of the modern zoos were modeIIed on London Zoo.
The DubIin peopIe, in 1830, founded a society specificaIIy
to create a zoo Iike London Zoo in DubIin.
These early zoos weren't for entertaInment, but for serIous study.
The VIctorIans were fascInated by the natural world
and seeIng exotIc anImals In the flesh
was superIor to readIng about them In books.
London Zoo was happy to spread the movement to DublIn
and sent a batch of anImals to help the new zoo on Its way.
When we taIk about animaIs being sent to DubIin Zoo,
I've never thought about it, but how did they make the journey?
They arrived in a variety of different ways.
Many of the more exotic animaIs through the 19th century
wouId have arrived by ship, directIy from LiverpooI.
A Iot of animaIs sent from peopIe IreIand came by train to DubIin.
And they often traveIIed free of charge in the care of the train staff.
For exampIe, in the 1880s, a Reverend Brett sent us a crocodiIe from Wexford
and somebody sent us a macaque monkey from SIigo.
(MIchael) If I were a ticket coIIector and came across a crocodiIe,
I probabIy wouIdn't seek to extract the fare.
These taII feIIows, I don't think they traveIIed by train.
(CatherIne) We did receive one that came on a Iong train journey
to DubIin Zoo in 1902.
We were given a present of a fuIIy-grown giraffe by an Irishman in the Sudan.
It went on a train to Cairo and had to go under six bridges.
The giraffe was far too taII in its car to get under each bridge,
so they created a padded sIiding roof, and as it approached each bridge
the sIiding roof gentIy cIosed and the giraffe's head dropped down.
It went under the bridge and the roof was opened and he had air once more.
When zoos were fIrst founded, they were prIvate socIetIes,
aImed squarely at wealthy amateur naturalIsts.
But whIle London Zoo remaIned exclusIve untIl 1 847,
DublIn offered publIc entrance for sIxpence rIght from the start.
Then, In 1 840, the zoo launched penny tIckets on Sundays.
During the 19th century when the masses couId come here quite cheapIy,
I'd Iove to think they came by train. Did they?
InitiaIIy, it was IargeIy for DubIiners. A IocaI faciIity.
But then we see, in the 1870s and 1880s particuIarIy,
the whoIe movement of peopIe coming to DubIin for a day out
or for a brief period, excursionists, tourists, to come to the zoo.
That was cIearIy evident in the fact that the zoo,
which had no money, put a Iot of money into advertising.
And in the 1870s they wouId pIace every year, for a number of years,
they pIaced framed advertisements ith Iions and tigers
in 20 raiIway stations around the country.
It was no coIncIdence that lIons were chosen as the poster boys of the zoo.
In the 19th century, DublIn's lIons were renowned,
as mIght bejudged from the grand former lIon house.
Our Iions were so famous that American visitors
were known to disembark in Cork on the way through to Europe
and come up by train, by the Great Southern RaiIway, up to DubIin
specificaIIy to visit our Iions.
AmerIcan tourIsts were mostly headed for London or LIverpool,
so stoppIng In DublIn was quIte a detour.
One especIally bIg beast even attracted VIPs.
In 1 878, the zoo's secretary, Samuel Horton,
showed the lIons, IncludIng a huge one called CharlIe,
to former US PresIdent Ulysses S Grant.
He Iit up a cigar and contempIated CharIie, the extra-Iarge Iion,
and at that point Horton decided to break the ice a bit
and toId the President that, in fact,
the Iions had been responsibIe for a two per cent rise in the vaIue
of the Great Southern RaiIway, specificaIIy because American tourists
came to DubIin to have a Iook at our famous Iions.
TravellIng wIth my guIde book Is always full of surprIses.
But I never thought that a trIp to the zoo
would uncover quIte so much raIlway hIstory.
What a joy it's been for me to revisit DubIin's fair city.
And I'm deIighted to discover that two characters heIped
the deveIopment of raiIways in IreIand,
to whom train passengers shouId give thanks.
The engineer WiIIiam Dargan,
and a Iion caIIed CharIie.
On the next stretch of my journey I'll be dIscoverIng
an IndustrIal raIlway buIlt on InhospItable bogs...
What scaIe of raiI operation do you have here?
WeII, in totaI, we have 600 kiIometres of permanent raiI Iine.
..admIrIng a marvel of VIctorIan raIlway engIneerIng...
Brendan, it's certainIy worth seeing the viaduct from here, isn't it?
It soars above the town
and is a wonderfuI combination of iron and stone.
..and unearthIng extraordInary underground secrets.
- So now we're at the sharp end. - (man) This is where it aII happens.
(man) Just mind your footing. Just foIIow me is probabIy the best thing.