Monkstown / Crosshaven Passage

Work connected with bypassing the centre of Passage and not interfering with its important dockyard industry necessitated the construction of a tunnel under part of the town. The boring of this Passage to Ferry Point tunnel was extremely troublesome and had caused much of the delay in completing the project in the first instance. The first 50 yards at the Passage end of the 500 yard tunnel were completed by a process called 'cut and cover' -this necessitated cutting a trench, building an arch and covering this with excavated material. A large shaft was built to assist the extract of smoke and steam and at intervals of about 25 yards cavities 6 feet high by 4 feet long were built to shelter personnel caught in the path of any approaching train.

On 25 July 1902 the Passage to Monkstown section of the line was inspected and passed by the Board of Trade inspector. This section was a continuation of the Cork to Passage narrow gauge track, which had been converted from broad-gauge and had come into use on 29 October 1900.

The river steamers' departure point was moved down river to Monkstown; the Passage to Monkstown line opened on 1 August 1902. The next section, from Monkstown to Carrigaline, was opened on 15 June 1903 and a further twelve months elapsed before the entire project as far as Crosshaven, was finally declared open by Lord Dudley; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Impressive scenes were witnessed both in Cork and at Crosshaven, the scene of the official opening ceremony, on 30 May 1904. The entire line was opened to the general public on 1 June.

Steamer sailings were reduced and mid-week traffic was handled by just one boat instead of the two previously employed -soon noticeable savings were evident. The train service enjoyed renewed popularity and the company did its best to encourage travellers by improving amenities at the strands in the neighbourhood of Crosshaven. At the company's meeting in 1904 a call was made to the various authorities to initiate further improvements at Crosshaven and the company, no doubt in their own interest, promised to contribute to any expense incurred. Possibly influenced by this meeting Improvement and Amusement committees were formed at Crosshaven and Monkstown in 1907. The Crosshaven committee made improvements -particularly in the Church Bay area -but a restaurant or refreshment rooms was still needed. The committee at Monkstown set about establishing a golf club and the C.B. & P .R. responded by promising reduced fares to club members. A marked increase in the number of passengers travelling to Crosshaven in 1908 was attributed to water polo and swimming competitions. Influenced by this the company decided to promote and sponsor entertainment at Crosshaven in August 1910.

Wartime Restrictions

Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1914 civilian activity was curtailed in and around Crosshaven. A military directive was rigidly enforced; summer residents were ordered to leave and unauthorised visitors were forbidden to disembark from trains and steamers. This, in addition to restrictions on excursions to Crosshaven, or indeed the advertising of facilities connected with the area, severely handicapped the railway company. The single Sunday-excursion train to Crosshaven was filled hours before departure time. The company sustained a net loss of £3,078 in 1915 for which a claim was submitted to the government. A slackening in restrictions allowed the company to issue cheap fares from Sunday II June 1916, which proved useful in attracting visitors to Crosshaven. During that year the refusal to grant a wage increase to workers on the company's steamers resulted in a short strike of deck-hands, crane men and 'shovel engineers'.

On I January 1917, Irish railways were taken over by the government and put under the control of an Irish Railway Executive Committee. At that period many workers were travelling to the harbour dockyards, which were experiencing a boom, this benefited the C.B. & P.R. and receipts were £2,294 above the 1916 figure. To facilitate workers going to Haul bowline the company purchased the 8.8. Empress.

During 1917 some difficulty was found in recruiting staff, since workers were attracted to more lucrative employment and the army recruitment campaign was taking others. As an alternative the company employed eight female ticket checkers with marked success, and these were believed to have been the first women so employed by an Irish railway company. Improved receipts in 1918 were attributed to increased fares and an increased work force in the harbour dockyards. To cater for the demand, the C.B. & P .R. acquired an additional small loco and five 3rd class coaches.