Ballinasloe Train Station
This is the new footbridge. There are very modern facilities in Ballinasloe.
On Monday 23rd of May 2011 we went to Ballinasloe train station to do some work on our project “Keep on Track”. We met the station master from Galway to Ballinasloe. He brought us for a tour of Ballinasloe Train Station. We were there while the quarter to twelve train was there.
Then Peter and Tom (Peter is the station master and Tom is a worker at Ballinasloe station) took us to the waiting room to answer our questions. They told us that it was rare to see a train in a siding in Ballinasloe. They also said they didn’t keep trains or carriages and they don’t keep old trains because they are sold to people who want them.
They also said that there was a Presidential Carriage which had a mini bar and was very comfortable. They don’t have a maintenance man or team. Peter said that they had different machines for different jobs such as the packer for packing the stones together to hold up the sleepers, or the sprayer for keeping weeds down. They said if a driver had a heart attack or died suddenly that the dead man’s pedal would work. But if the pedal isn’t pressed every 20 or 30 seconds it will assume the driver is dead and will work automatically and stop the train dead. That’s why it’s called the dead man’s pedal. Then after our questions were answered Tom brought us to the old signal box and we watched the 1:15 come through and then went back to school.
By Red Devil
Commuters!!!
Today we went to Ballinasloe train station. Our group were in the Commuters group. Commuters are people who travel on trains. We had to ask questions about them. First we went into the waiting room and we had lots of questions to ask Peter Caulfield, the station master. We were all in different groups.
Here are some of our questions and the answers to them:
- How many commuters pass the train station every day?
Answer: Loads, around a few hundred.
- How many commuters can fit on one train?
With 3 carriages: 182.
- Are many of the commuters going to work/school?
Lots, well, all different people really.
- Did the train have something to do with the famine?
Yes.
- Was there ever any major accidents?
No.
- What new technology do you have?
Well for people in wheelchairs, if you slip there is a button that you press on the wall if you fall. A message is then sent to Athlone and they will help you over the intercom from there.
Miss Dooley, who teaches in Clontuskert said that her uncle owns a bar and that he loves train so much, he made a hole in his wall and drove a train right into it. He has a museum too. His name is Sean Browne and you can see his website www.hellskitchenmuseum.com
Then when we were finished asking questions. We all had a great day in Ballinasloe train station.
Visiting Ballinasloe Train Station
We asked Peter Caulfield and Tom Earls lots of questions on Ballinasloe Train Station. These are just some of the answers:
In Ballinasloe and Galway they keep most of the trains outside. In Ballinasloe they have a maintenance team. All the trains are fixed in Limerick. The signal man lives in a house right beside the railway. The dead man’s pedal is on every train. If there is something wrong with the driver, say he had a heart attack, the train would stop immediately because you have to push it down for the train to move. So if the driver had a heart attack he would lift his foot and then the train would stop. About a hundred commuters come through Ballinasloe railway everyday. Tom brought us up to the signal box. There used to be a person in there and he had to signal to the train to stop and start and made the train go on different tracks. This signal box hasn’t been used in the last six years because now everything is automated. We enjoyed our trip to Ballinasloe Train Station.
By Lightning Star
Ballinasloe train station
Today we went to Ballinasloe train station. We saw two men at the train station. Their names were Tom and Peter. We asked them questions. I took pictures on the iPod. We saw a train coming into Ballinasloe train station. We came back on the bus
By Daisy Flower
THE TRAIN STATION
Today we went to Ballinasloe train station. We met the station master Peter Caulfield and the station master Tom Earls. We went into the Waiting Room and asked them lots of questions. We asked them who built and designed the station? They said it was the British. I asked them if anyone famous had ever come to the station? They said the Galway team did after they won the All Ireland in 1998. Then some of the school got to go up to the Control Room. We got to go on the new footbridge where we went on a lift and we could see outside when we went up. When we got back we did an interview with the station master. We had a good time and we got to see two trains pass through the station.
The Train Station
On Monday the 23rd of May we went Ballinasloe train station. We were talking to two men there. Their names are Tom and Peter.
They gave us a tour of the train station.
We got to see two trains coming into the station and leaving the station.
We asked Tom and Peter some questions.
It was very interesting to learn more about the train and the station. The station is very big. The trains were very big too.
I really enjoyed it.
Trains
Today we went to visit Ballinasloe train station. Two men called Tom and Peter told us about the train station. We had a great time. We went to see the tower. It was so high. Some people would not come up because they were too scared but when we came down they went up the lif. The rest of us had gone up the stairs. It was good fun. The best part of the day was when we got to go to the new footbridge. It was class. We got on the bus and drove all the way home. It was so cool!
By Mario
