The operation of the Great Southern Railway during the Emergency

Abstract

This thesis examines the operation of the Great Southern Railway during the Emergency period. The GSR operated all railway lines which lay wholly within Eire, together with large bus and lorry fleets. It was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1938, but became the main transport provider throughout much of the state during the Emergency as petrol shortage put many vehicles off the road. From mid 1941, its operations were severely disrupted by the collapse in the quality of the coal sold to it by its British suppliers. The thesis examines the accepted historical view that emergency rail service was one of unremitting chaos and unpunctuality and finds that this was not the case, but that the experience of the GSR in these years was similar to railway companies on other neutral countries.