Steam train stopped in Wicklow after three fires on line

A steam train due to travel from Dublin to Rosslare in County Wexford on Sunday had to halt at Rathdrum station after three separate outbreaks of fire along the railway line.

The steam train operated by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) departed Connolly Station in Dublin at around 11am and was due to arrive in Rosslare for around 2.30pm.

At around 12 noon reports were received about a fire on the railway line at Bray Head and a fire service unit from Bray station was deployed to tackle the blaze. However, further reports were soon received over similar fire outbreaks at Kilcoole and at Killoughter in Wicklow town, both also taking place on the railway line.

Firefighters from the station in Greystones were sent to the incident tat Kilcoole, while local firefighters from Wicklow town were tasked with the fire at Killoughter.

The steam train was travelling along the line at the time and there were concerns that the fires could have been started from sparks emanating from the train, so it was decided to stop it at Rathdrum Train Station at around 1pm. The warm and dry conditions are also thought to have played a role.

Wicklow’s Chief Fire Officer Aidan Dempsey said each of the fires were relatively minor in size and it took less than an hour to extinguish each of them, but they were in “three very inaccessible areas” and “were harder to find than to put out.”

The 250 people on board the steam train waited at Rathdrum Train Station until 3pm when they were picked up by a diesel train sent by Irish Rail.

The line between Greystones and Wicklow was temporarily closed before being reopened. DART services were also suspended between Greystones and Bray due to the cabling damage while assessments were carried out.

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan’s exclusive take on the day’s news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.