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The Cork and Muskerry Light Railway was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The first part of the railway opened in 1887 and closed in 1934. A major reason for building the railway was to exploit tourist traffic to Blarney Castle.
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Initial route
The railway operated from its own station. the Cork Western Road railway station, in Cork city. The initial lines westwards from Cork to Blarney and Coachford opened in 1887 and 1888 respectively. The railway was built close to the south bank of the River Lee as far as a station at Coachford Junction, 6½ miles west of Cork. From Coachford Junction the branch to the Blarney line terminus station was 2 miles, and the line to the terminus station at Coachford was 9 miles.
Throughout the railway's existence, the line was equipped with nine steam locomotives.
Donoughmore Extension
An 8½ mile long extension was built north-westerly from St Annes (on the Blarney branch) to Donoughmore. The line was opened in 1893. It was legally a separate company (the Donoughmore Extension Light Railway Company, incorporated in 1889) but worked as a part of the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway.
Final years
The line was comparatively unaffected by World War I, but experienced serious damage during the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. The destruction of a bridge over the River Lee seriously undermined the railway's viability; the railway was repaired and incorporated into the Great Southern Railways in 1925.
Road competition started to seriously affect the railway in the 1920s. The railway closed on 29 December 1934