Lartigue Monorail: How A Small Irish Town Built The World's First Commercial Monorail
Official website for more info: lartiguemonorail.com
Monorail. MONORAIL. The word feels almost synonymous with futuristic metropolitan travel. So the small Irish market town of Listowel, which is neither futuristic, nor a metropolis, seems like an unlikely birthplace for such a modern mode of transport. And yet...
Lartigue Monorail, Listowel, Co. Kerry 3rd August 2011
A round-trip on the recreation of a short section of the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway at Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland. Although diesel powered, the replica vehicles (built by Alan Keef Ltd of Ross-on-Wye, England) give a great impression of what this amazing line must have been like. There are several original features around the site and an excellent museum facility in the old broad gauge goods warehouse. Thanks guys for a most enjoyable visit. Filmed by Matt Waldren.
Along The Line (1931)
A single line - in Ireland - where the historical Ballybunion Mono-Railway ran.*
M/S of a strange looking train moving towards the camera. Engine driver climbs down and goes to the front of the engine. He pushes on the track to turn the engine around to face the opposite direction. L/S of the train approaching. As it nears the camera it stops and passengers get out of tiny carriages. C/U of the front of the train. The train starts up and moves off. Children wave from the carriages. High angle shot of the train wobbling along. Shot from the roof of the train showing the two drivers. C/U of engine driver. An unusual road bridge is lowered over the line. A horse and cart travels across.
Was an item in Pathe Pictorial issue number 701.
* This doesn't make much sense but that's what it says!
Not sure if Ballybunion is in Northern Ireland or Southern Ireland (Republic of Ireland, Eire, Irish Republic) - can't find it on the map. Perhaps it is some kind of joke?
FILM ID:914.11
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Lartigue Monorail, Listowel, Ireland.
Lartigue Monorail, Listowel, Ireland. The only one of this type in the world....
Lartigue Monorail; Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland
This is the Lartigue Monorail, a restored locomotive monorail that operates as a museum piece in Listowel, Ireland. The video demonstrates exactly how the train was operated in its heyday. For more information, go to
Listowel & Ballybunion Railway, Co. Kerry, Ireland.
A visit to the Listowel & Ballybunion Railway in Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland, on a very wet and windy day, 13th July 2007. The original Listowel & Ballybunion Railway ran from 1888 to 1924 and was notable for it's use of the Lartigue monorail system. This modern heritage railway opened in 2003 and uses a diesel powered replica of the original steam engines plus 2 replica carriages. The new line is 1km long and is situated next to the original terminus of the railway in Listowel.
Listowel Monorail. Lartigue system demonstration railway. 2/7/15
The Listowel to Ballybunion Railway opened in 1888 and was just over nine miles in length. It ran successfully for 36 years, finally closing in 1924 after never recovering properly from serious damage sustained during the civil war. The railway used the Lartigue single rail system which was unique to this line.
The demonstration line at Listowel uses the track-bed of the standard gauge railway station, closed in the 1970s.
The diesel loco is a reasonably accurate representation of the double boilered steam locos, built by Hunslet of Leeds, used on this railway. There remains, in the area of the original terminus, the foundations of the original switches/turntables. 2nd July 2015.
Many thanks to Martin Griffin,was
our driver and guide on the day. Located in Southern Ireland.
The Listowel & Ballybunion monorail
A brief introductoy history to this remarkable railway located in south-west Ireland from 1888 to 1924, together with a demonstration of all the items available on my website to recreate the railway in Trainz railway simulator.
Lartigue Monorail, Listowel, Co. Kerry roof ride.
From the roof of the Lartigue Monorail going back to the station. Showing the single rail and wheel working.
Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland
Drive through video of Listowel, Co. Kerry, Republic of Ireland,
The Lartigue monorail Listowel
The Lartigue monorail project is based on the John B Keane road in Listowel town as you head out to Ballybunion. The restored railway is a huge success bringing many tourists each year. The footage was shot by Denis Carroll,Fealegood Productions Listowel.
Lartigue Monorail, Listowel ~ 17th June 2015 (Part 1)
Part 1 of my visit to the Lartigue Monorail in Listowel, County Kerry, in Republic of Ireland.
After visiting the Kerry Model Railway in Tralee, I drove on heading towards Limerick. However, I stopped in Listowel to visit the very unusual, but nevertheless interesting Lartigue Monorail.
Built in 1888, the Lartigue Monorail (named after its French engineer, Charles Lartigue) was originally 10-miles long running from Listowel inland to Ballybunion on the coast. Despite being called a monorail, it wasn't technically a monorail as it was built as a A-section railway (or a triangular railway, whichever way you can describe it!).
The original three steam locomotives were double-boilered 0-3-0s, built by Hunslet of Leeds and were designed by Anatole Mallet, who was famous for the Mallet articulated locomotives.
The original railway was closed in 1924. However, in 2003, a 1000-metre section of this monorail was reconstructed with replica rolling stock and a diesel-hydraulic replica of the original steam locomotives built by Alan Keef of Ross-on-Wye.
During my afternoon visit to the monorail, I looked around the museum, and despite being the only visitor at that time of the day, the qualified driver and guard kindly agreed to give me a ride on their unusual train.
Despite the heavy rain (in fact, I had only two days of rain during my 12-day visit to Ireland!), I had a wonderful ride behind their diesel-hydraulic replica, as well as seeing how using their switches (the trestle-mounted turntables), they turn the locomotive around.
NOTE: The driver asked me if this was my first time in Ireland, and the answer to that was YES.
Listowel Co Kerry Ireland
My Home Town Listowel Kerry Ireland
The Lartigue Monorailway, Listowel - Ballybunion Railway
My little amateur-video about the Lartigue Monorailway in Listowel, Ireland.
Thanks to the friendly Monorailway team in Listowel!!!
You are invited to be part of history and experience a unique mode of transport at the Lartigue Monorailway in Listowel. The reconstructed engine and carriages will take you on a trip back in time to an era which no longer exists. Witness its amazing engineering features as the engine is manually turned on the turntables for your return journey.
lartiguemonorail.com/
Lartigue Monorail, Listowel, Co. Kerry Lartigue Monorail railway roofride
Old (Original) Lartigue Monorail
An old film of the original Lartigue Monorail which ran between Listowel and Ballybunion in Co Kerry Ireland .
The Richard Morris monorail
Carrying on from the other day I finished up some jobs like cleaning out monoloco oiling up other units read for moving and leveling out some of the track.
More videos coming soon
Ireland's last commercial steam
The last use of a steam engine on the railways of Ireland for purely practical purposes, nothing to do with publicity or entertainment. A contractor needed a locomotive for some track relaying work, and chose steam because it was the best available option.
All this was a little more recent than you might think...
Lartigue monorail listowel