The Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway known locally to the locals as The Black Bridge (CB&PR) was a narrow gauge railway in County Cork, Ireland. The line originally opened in 1850 as a Irish standard gauge railway between Cork and Passage West and operated steam feeder ferries to other locations round Cork Harbour. The company was heavily dependent on summer tourist traffic for a considerable proportion of its revenue. The railway was converted to narrow gauge in 1900 in conjunction with extensions southwards to Crosshaven which were completed in 1904. The railway closed in 1932 and has since been replaced by a public pathway and nature area.
History
Background
By the early 1830s century Cork City had become a prosperous port. Paddle steamers were operating out of Cork City to a number of locations in Cork Harbour including resorts such as Cove (later known as Queenstown and now Cobh). A line from Cork City to Passage was seen as a business opportunity that could exploit a shorter travel time to the steamboat destinations around Cork Harbour as well as providing important communications to the boatbuilding shipyard at Passage. Some also felt at that time there might be potential for exploiting Passage as a transatlantic port. Following a variety of earlier schemes an Act of Parliament was passed on 16 July 1846 authorising construction of the railway to Passage.
Broad gauge operations
The initial, northern section of the line was long and ran from the Cork terminus at City Park some 12 minutes walk from Patrick Bridge to the eastern terminus alongside the steamboat pier at Passage West. A trial run was completed in May 1850 and the railway opened on Saturday 10 June 1850 to large patronage for the opening weekend with trains packed to capacity and 6,000 passengers transported on the Sunday.
Three small Sharp Brothers steam locomotives operated the line. The passenger stock was about a dozen coaches comprising a mixture of first, second and third classes.
The CB&PR directors decided that with increasing patronage to Cove, now renamed Queenstown, they wished to operate their own Steamship to connect with trains. As the CB&PR did not have power to operate boats a private company was formed and a vessel, the 'PS Queen, was chartered from the River Steamboat Company. A price war subsequently ensured with other ferry operators however the enterprise expanded and by 1855 was operating four paddle steamers of between 56 and 11 tons.
After the Cork and Youghal Railway opened its branch to Queenstown on 10 March 1862 the competition from the direct route forced the CB&PR to reduce its combined rail/steam fares.
The Cork Terminus was relocated to Albert Park in 1873, nearer the city centre and closer to the Albert Quay station of the Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway, the move being subsidised as the City Quay site was needed for development of the docks.
A parliamentary act of 1881 included a provision for the CB&PR to operate steamboats, and those from the subsidiary company were taken into direct ownership. The steamers were expensive to operate but provided essentially feeder traffic to the railway. The rival Citizen River Steamer Company was unable to meet liabilities in January 1890 and was wound up, the CB&PR acquiring the vessels for £1405 2s. 3d. and thereby eliminating that source of competition.
The CB&PR remained relatively profitable compared to most railways in the 1880s, though there began to be decrease in passengers, arrested by switching steam services to a one penny pier to pier rate. The company was late to introduce a one-zone fare system in 1891.
Extension and narrow gauge conversion
The latter part of the nineteenth century had seen considerations given to extending the CP&BR to eliminate some steamship journeys and with the aim of creating greater residential development and commuter traffic. In a Parliamentary Act of 7 August 1896 the CB&PR obtained permission for a extension from Passage to Crosshaven. It was calculated building the extension as narrow gauge would save money, and it was decided to convert the original railway to narrow gauge at the same time. An opportunity was lost in not using the provisions of the earlier Light Railway Acts which would have been cheaper. In the event construction difficulties and time overruns occurred particularly with the tunnel just north of Passage, the final cost being accounted as £200,093.