{"product_id":"the-trains-long-departed-irelands-lost-railways","title":"The Trains Long Departed: Ireland's Lost Railways","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Tom Ferris\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber Of Pages:\u003c\/b\u003e 232\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRelease Date:\u003c\/b\u003e 05-11-2010\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDetails:\u003c\/b\u003e Product Description      The Trains Long Departed tells the story of Ireland's lost railways, the repository of optimism, disappointment and nostalgia. The first Irish railway was established as early as 1834 and by 1914 the network covered the entire island. However, the development of the internal combustion engine, combined with the inherent unprofitability of many of the smaller and more remote lines resulted in a drastic cull of the system in the course of the twentieth century. It is these lost railways of Ireland that are the subject of Tom Ferris's new book. Some mainlines were simply uneconomic; all the various narrow gauge lines, many of which had been promoted with the encouragement of the British government in the late nineteenth century to stimulate economic development in remote places, were without exception unprofitable. The resultant purging of the system has left the entire north-west quarter of the island without a single kilometre of useable track in the early twenty-first century and many other parts with only a sparse service.      About the Author      Tom Ferris is an author and publisher. Originally from Co. Tyrone, he now lives in Wales. He is one of Ireland's leading authorities on railway history and the author of many previous books. He is author of Irish Railways: A New History (2008)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEAN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780717147854\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguages:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eItem Condition:\u003c\/b\u003e New\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pigeonhouse Books, Dublin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48107607392583,"sku":"VF-KPZQ-SPZF","price":39.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0293\/7474\/2572\/products\/51e00JO4VhL.jpg?v=1691015490","url":"https:\/\/www.pigeonhousebooks.com\/products\/the-trains-long-departed-irelands-lost-railways","provider":"Pigeonhouse Books, Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}