NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPH AND ARTICLE OF THE DERAILMENT OF THE EARLY MORNING TRAIN FROM CAHERCIVEEN TO FARRANFORE IN NOVEMBER 1944 (KERRYMAN) The derailment was caused by a landslide the previous night when many tons of earth and stones from the cliff edge were dislodged and piled onto the permanent way. It happened less than half-mile from the first tunnel on the section of line running along the steep side of Drung Hill between Mountain Stage and the majestic Gleesk viaduct further west. The driver, peering through the darkness of the early Monday morning on the bleak November day, saw a dark mass on the line ahead of him. As he slammed on his brakes the engine lifted off the permanent way, skidded along two lengths of rails and then came to rest within two feet of the cliff that rises 150 feet above the waters of Dingle Bay. But for the vigilance of the driver and fireman and the presence of some tons of yielding mud into which the engine ploughed, the train with it’s engine crew and passengers, would have gone crashing over the cliffs into the waters of the bay deep down below. The escape was miraculous and even more miraculous was the fact that no one was injured. Indeed in the darkness the passengers were not even aware of what happened and not until day light broke were they able to appreciate how close they had come to the shadow of death. All they knew was that there was a terrific jolt that flung them from their seats, and grinding crash, and then a moments deathly silence before they dazedly picked themselves up with their luggage. There were fifty passengers on the train that morning, many to connect with the main line at Farranfore. All were duly conveyed to their destinations by cars, and no further trains could run on the line that day. Ref: R159
