When the DKR analysed the business credentials of their line to Kingstown, they noted 70, journeys a month were made along the corridor in These were principally taxis, more private hire, potentially for a number of patrons, not omnibuses running to a schedule.

This was because the jarveys slang term for a coachman operating these cars, argued in the courts that omnibuses were illegal according to Dublin’s stage carriage laws. This continued until the midth century when omnibuses started taking to the streets. AV entered service in May at Donnybrook. It was strictly allocated to this route until its cancellation in as part of Network Direct, when AV went into the general allocation in Donnybrook. In the summer of it obtained an overall advertisement for HB, the last bus as of to have received a full all over advert.

It is seen in this advert above. It moved to Summerhill in November to work Airport routes 16 and 41 due to its luggage racks.

It operated in Summerhill until the 9th February , and is currently in store in Harristown 21st March It is impossible to record a complete history of horse-drawn omnibus services at this time, however two operations are important in the context of this district. The first came about in with the withdrawal of the atmospheric railway. Two omnibuses operated this service, and the service operated till the end of November The premise of the operation was that though there was significant competition from the train, passengers were inconvenienced by the walk to the infrequently spaced stations, and hence omnibus operation was more convenient a fact revisited in this piece.

The timetable in was: From Kingstown: , , , , , , , , , , and From College Street: , , , , , , , , , , and One notable director of the company was a P. Bryan, a local Kingstown merchant, and it was he who set up a service from Kingstown Railway Station to Dalkey Castle Street on the 9th October , which supplemented the city service. Buses ran hourly from 8am to 7pm from Kingstown, on the half-hour from Dalkey.

It is noted in contemporary accounts that upon the launch of the service, that “two good looking girls It is in more of a general allocation in Donnybrook these days March My Bryan took over the operation of the Kingstown and Dublin Omnibus Company as a leasee on the 1st January , both operations now under the same guise.

It is interesting to note that even in these early times, long before magnetic readers or leap cards, that this company offered annual tickets. By , the company was issuing , tickets single tickets not annual per year on their operation, showing just how much growth there can be on a well run commuter route, even in competition with a railway.

Competition on this route across the various forms of transport is a constant throughout this article, between train, tram and bus. Protectionism from the various companies, trying to ensure their profits on the commuter route, form a key part of the story. Because tramways were a major infrastructural project, built by private companies on public roads, new tramways required an act of parliament at this time from the House of Commons in London.

The Dublin Southern District Tramways Act was awarded in , allowing work to begin on two unconnected tramways. It was the protectionist legal objections by the DWWR that was key in these two lines being incompatible, due to different track gauges. It entered service in Donnybrook in September A depot was built at Castle Street in Dalkey, just prior to the terminus. The line was built to the standard 5ft 3in gauge.

Its depot was at Shelbourne Road. This section of line was operated by steam engines for a number of months beginning Sunday 7th August Two stream trams provided a 30min service from Blackrock to Haddington Road. Opposition to these engines was severe, and calls to limit the speed to 4mph was sufficient to kill off the project.

D was new to Donnybrook in January It moved to Ringsend in the autumn on due to maintenance problems within Ringsend depot, a straight swap for some other Ringsend Atlanteans. It then moved to Phibsborough in the summer of operating there for just over 2 years. This photo was taken a short time after its transfer back to Donnybrook in the autumn of It was one of the last few Atlanteans to operate into in Donnybrook garage, being withdrawn in January of that year exactly 19 years after it had entered service.

Notable in this photo is the bar across the upstairs windows. The Van Hools were originally delivered without this feature. However D was involved in an accident in While travelling down the Rock Road the bus had to break suddenly, the consequence of which was that the conductor partially went through the front windows. After this, the bar across the front windows was added to Van Hool Atlanteans.

The final section of line, joining the two sections, was built and operated by a different company, the Blackrock and Kingstown Tramways Company BKT.

Its depot was built on Newtown Avenue. At each end it shared a terminus with one of the DSDT lines, though integrated timetabling was not introduced in order to entice through running of passengers. The different gauges complicated the construction on Marine Road, especially where the lines crossed. Initially, they needed not worry. With horse swaps at Haddington Road, tram swaps at Blackrock and Kingstown, the Dalkey bound passenger faced a journey approximately four times longer by tram than train.

However that was soon to change. Map showing the different sections of the horse tram route from Dublin to Dalkey click on it for a larger version. The DSDT were early proponents of mechanical power and though their trials with steam engines had been scuppered, they still saw the mechanisation of their tramways as a high priority. In February they held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to advise their intention to purchase the DKT and to mechanise the full line from Haddington Road to Dalkey.

Electrification was deemed the most sensible form of mechanisation, as it had been successful in Blackpool and Leeds The electrification of the line required another act of parliament, and this act was again heavily opposed by the DWWR. There was much local favour among residents for the new electric line, and by the summer of , the act was in the final stages of deliberation the Dublin Southern District Tramways Act passed in August allowing electricification and track modifications.

In order to convert the line to electric operation, the permanent way needed to be reconstructed which meant the line was closed for the works. The first section to close was the Haddington Road to Blackrock section, closing on the 11th March , the Blackrock and Kingstown section on the 30th June and then finally the Kingstown to Dalkey line in August The pace of work was high, it being noted that the Haddington Road to Ballbridge section of the line was finished sufficiently to allow the Dublin United Tramways Company the new name of the DCT following amalgamations with other tramways to run their horse drawn trams over these lines to the RDS for the famous Horse Show Week at the end of August The first trail run engineering testing of an electric tram from Haddington Road to Kingstown took place in December It entered service in Donnybrook in October , as part of the EV batch of buses.

For quite a significant time, this bus was a Route regular. At the time of this photo, EVs were common on the 7, it having lost SGs to other cross-city services in Donnybrook. This didn’t last long, with SGs soon restored to the service upon delivery of new buses.

The electrified line opened between Haddington Road and Dalkey on the 16th May , under the operating name of “Dublin Electric Tramways”. The Lord Mayor of Dublin inaugurated the service, travelling on the first car departing Kingstown for Dalkey at 7am.

The first car from Haddington Road to Dalkey departed at 8am. The journey time was 70mins from Haddington Road to Dalkey, the trams limited to a maximum of 8mph, with no electric tram allowed to exceed this speed. The opening of this first electric tramway was a significant event in Dublin, a modern marvel that people wanted to try.

On the first day alone, 25, people travelled on the trams, with 50, passengers travelling on the following day Sunday 17th May. There were 14 trams in service on the first day each composed of an electric car and trailer, both double decked, making 28 cars , yet queues at Haddington Road for the tram were as high as 1 hour.

Integrated ticketing was not available. It should be noted that the conversion to standard gauge lead to a section of single track at the Dalkey terminus on Castle Street, with double track running just beyond the depot before becoming a single track to the junction with Convent Road. For this reason, the DSDT decided to propose their own city centre routing in November , as well as a number of competing routes that would see lines run on roads parallel to existing DUTC line, for which they sought an act of parliament.

As shown in the map below, under the proposals Dublin was basically to get a doubling of its tramway lines, and it is doubted that there was an economic justification for the lines.

Note that some lines are shown as entering housing estates, or across private property. This was the intention, and in all cases every effort has been made to be as accurate as possible click on it for a larger version.

There was also a proposed extension to the Dalkey line to Sorrento Road. The competing lines were never built, though the DSDTs concept of a Ballybough line would be introduced in the early s. However, the proposals got the attention of the DUTC, who were unhappy at the proposed competition from a “partner” tramway, and the act may have had the exact outcome the Imperial Tramways had hoped for.

They ran into financial difficulty due to the costs of building the Dalkey Line, reforming as the British Thomson-Houston Company in These financial woes, and issues with the proposed act of parliament, lead the British Thomson-Houston company to force a buyout of the Imperial Tramways and execute a sale to the DUTC in July , the new company Dublin United Tramways being incorporated on the 28th September However, these three companies, DUTC, DSDT and DUTC existed as seperate entities, at least on paper, for a further 11 years until an act of parliament allowing the merger and formation into a single entity was passed.

It entered service in Donnybrook in May , its delivery delayed due to Transbus going into administration prior to delivery. It operated in Donnybrook until the 28th November , its last day being a rare allocation to Route 14 which was a fully SG route then. It returned to service in Harristown on the 24th January , operating there till the 19th February. It is currently in storage at Harristown depot. The speed of the trams were a continued bone of contention between the tram company, their passengers, and the board of trade.

Eventually the board of trade would allow 12mph which was the speed permitted for other early motorised vehicles. In order to improve journey times, the DUTC placed notices on certain lamp posts to request passengers to wait at these locations in order to speed up journey times.

The Dalkey Line was therefore the first tramline to have designated stops, up to this time trams were a hail and ride service trams going slow enough to hop on and off in most cases. It is not known exactly what signage was used, though in later times, such stopping places were labelled with a white line around the lamp post. Such had been the success of the Dalkey Electric Tramway that by the summer of , the DUTC reached an agreement with Dublin Corporation to allow electric tramways within the city boundary and began the process of electrifying their entire network.

It was noted at the time that free transfers were available for passengers at Merrion Square, who could transfer to Donnybrook line trams to access Nassau Street. This continued until the 7th September, when the Donnybrook cars were also routed via Westland Row to allow reconstruction of the line in Nassau Street. Imagine Luas work being completed at this pace nowadays! It entered service in Donnybrook in August and is still in service there today.

Tresilian, went about detailing each of the lines after the electrification of the network had been completed. This was published in entitled “A Guide to Dublin and Suburbs”. These route numbers never appeared on the trams, and whether this was an official numbering system or just a noting system for use solely in this guide is unknown. Generally the route follows, after leaving the city, the south shore of the Bay of Dublin, and along almost its whole length charming views not only of the bay but of the Dublin Mountains are had.

KD30 was delivered to Donnybrook in for use on the 7 and 8 routes. It was a consistent performer on these services for its entire service in Dublin Bus, as shown by the photo above. It was withdrawn about a year after this photo was taken in the summer of The “7A – Sallynoggin” display is interesting as this was the display for this route for quite some time, but by the time of this photo, the 7A outer terminus had been Mackintosh Park for some years.

Though it was before numbers were given to the routes, for ease of explanation, the four principle variants during Electric Tram Operation are explained through their route numbers:. The terminus was principally at the corner of Convent Road, however towards the end of the line the depot or just after the gates on Castle Street was used as the terminus with the rest of the Castle Street section abandoned.

There was a siding at the junction of Main Street and Newtown Avenue where trams could wait their time at an old stone cross which has since been removed from the location. If you visit this page you will see a photograph of this junction, note the siding behind the lamppost in the foreground, with the main line tracks bending from Main Street to Newtown Avenue.

Map showing the electric tram route showing the termini of the various services click on it for a larger version. A frequent service of every mins along the majority of the route was typical.

For example in , during daytime every 2nd tram went to Dalkey at 8min intervals, with a 4min frequency provided between Kingstown and the City.

In the morning , trams operated every 10mins from Dalkey, with a 5min service provided from Blackrock. The night time service was all trams to Dalkey operating every 8mins. On Sundays all trams operated to Dalkey on a 5min headway. The Dalkey line also had a number of early morning services, the first being the from Dalkey.

Such early services from Dalkey have survived to this very day and are spoken about throughout this piece. This ran from the s up until the s. SG was delivered to Donnybrook in August It went into service on the 7 service.

It has migrated into the more general SG pool in Donnybrook these days. The three depots that existed in horse tram operation, namely Ballsbridge Shelbourne Road , Blackrock Newtown Avenue and Dalkey Castle Street were used throughout the electric tram era. Michael Corcoran in “Through Streets Broad and Narrow” notes a capacity of 88 trams in these depots around , 40 in Ballsbridge, 36 in Blackrock and 12 in Dalkey.

As noted previously, route numbers were not applied to trams until In the early days of tramway operation, destination boards were carried on the side of the trams to indicate the route they were operating. In the DUTC introduced a series of symbols as opposed to numbers that were carried on the front and back of the trams to indicate the service operated to counteract illiteracy among its passenger base.

These were placed above a scroll which advised the destination. GT82 entered service in July , principally operating Route 7 and 8 at the time, as well as the 54A and GT82 has continued to operate in Donnybrook since then.

In , the R. The exhibition ran from the 4th May to 9th November It featured an amusements section, long before the days of Funderland, which had a water chute, a helter skelter and a crystal maze among others.

To facilitate the traffic from this exhibition, a new spur was added to the Dalkey line down Anglesea Road at Ballsbridge to serve the R.

The line from Haddington Road to Ballsbridge was also relaid with “heavier rails”, the original rails from the DSDT’s conversion in requiring an upgrade to cope with the increased traffic. The terminus was outside house No. S Jumping Ground just prior to the left-kink in the road when heading towards Donnybrook. This spur continued to be used for events in the R. One would consider that express city services are a relatively modern concept, being introduced to the bus network in the late s.

However, the first express city service was in fact considerably before this. The first express service of trams began on the Dalkey Line on the 8th February Services departed Dalkey at and , returning from the city at and , except Saturdays were most people worked half days, cars departed Dalkey at the same time in the morning but returning at and instead. The services were quickly a success, and just over a month later on the 18th March , a 3rd “special non-stopping car” was added, departing Dalkey at , and returing at It then entered regular service in Donnybrook following the tournament.

It remained in this livery, principally operating Routes 1 and , until early March when it was repainted into core livery. It is still in service in Ringsend. They would then alight passengers only at corner of Merrion Street, Dawson Street and then all stopping places to The Pillar. Returning from the pillar the opposite applied. Trams picked up passengers at all stopping places to the corner of Grafton Street, then stopped only at the corner of Merrion Street to pick up passengers, and then alighted passengers at the stops noted before.

With the introduction of route numbers these express services were denoted by a red 8 on a white background, differing from the white number on a black background of standard services.

There were a few turmultuous events over the next few years. The Lock Out was a significant event for the tramway, and though some semblance of a service at times would be maintained on the Dalkey, the special express cars could not be operated, not returning till the The Rising was also a difficult time for the tramway, with their lines and some of their trams being caught in the turmoil. The rising began on Easter Monday, 24th April , just before midday.

Tram services would be withdrawn soon after. Tram services returned to the Dalkey trams on the Wednesday 26th April , though only operating between Ballsbridge and Alma Road. They were extended further into the city to O’Connell Bridge on the Thursday. It should be noted that Dublin at this time was under martial law, and a curfew was in force.

By May 6th, trams to Dalkey were operating till , a last service to Blackrock at in order to obey with curfew. It was a futher few weeks before a full service returned. SG28 arrived in Donnybrook in September It operated in Donnybrook for its entire time with Dublin Bus, last operating on the 27th June It has since been transferred to Go Ahead who will take up services in the Dublin region in September Ireland also experienced a severe coal shortage in the years to The Director of Cross Channel Transport dictated that supplies were conserved.

This included the tramway company and a number of services were curtailed in this period. The Dalkey Trams were affected on the 2nd October when the express “special cars” were withdrawn. They would never return to the timetable. At this time, services across the entire network were curtailed after pm, such was the shortage of coal. Stemphen’s Green and Baggot Street. But it is still worth a mention on this page given it operated along a section of the Dalkey line.

The 5 began operation on the 16th June It was a Monday-Saturday service only. It ceased operation on the 31st October The terminus at the corner of Sandymount Avenue was vacated at times when exhibitions ran at the R. The 7 was the first route that GTs went into service on.

GT3 has remained in Donnybrook since then. This change was key to an often told tram story. It’s easy to think that the formation of the Free State was universally welcomed in Ireland, but this wasn’t entirely true, especially in the more affluent areas of south Dublin through which the Dalkey trams operated.

The story goes that a well-to-do woman who used the Dalkey tram on a daily basis was unhappy with the name change. After boarding a tram she would sit, and when the conductor approached and asked for her destination, she would advise proudly and loudly, “Kingstown please”.

When the conductor responded with “Not on this tram, mam”, she would duly get up and leave the tram, utilising a tramway rule that those who had boarded the wrong tram and travelled only a short distance should not be charged.

As noted earlier, the late 20s and the early 30s were a period of intense competition from private bus companies. The competition from buses on the Dalkey route significantly rose throughout late and into which sparked two separate issues. Though the GSR had been the main opposition to any tramway development along its coastal route, by the late s, both had found a decent market, something private bus companies were taking by undercutting the fare structures of both companies.

As part of the Moss Technology advert run, it was temporarily loaned to Clontarf in the autumn of , spending a month or so there. KD was one of the last KDs in Donnybrook being withdrawn upon the delivery of AV-class buses in the autumn of Under Irish Law this agreement had to be ratified by the Irish Railway Tribunal, which ultimately vetoed the agreement as being too favourable for the tramway company. But what this process showed is how significant the bus competition was, and how threatened the existing players felt, such that they would suspend years of animosity between them.

In response to the competition, the DUTC increased the service on the 8 tram by extending all previous Route 7 departures to Dalkey. Thus Dalkey now had a service of every 4mins in the peak periods, and Route 7 was only used on extras and shorts and was not officially timetabled. The second issue was with regards to the bus route that the private operators were plying. Bus operation had no centralised control in the late 20s. The DUTC were permitted under law to operate buses in , but required the Minister of Local Government to license them to operate a route.

By , the Railways Road Motor Act permitted railways to operate bus services, though they needed approval for their routes from the Minister of Industry and Commerce. For all other operators, these acts did not apply and they required solely the Commissionor of the Garda Siochana to ratify their routes for operation, i. The original routing in the Dalkey area was considered dangerous by the local council. They then had a one way routing around Dalkey, turning left onto Harbour Road proceeding via Convent Road to the Dalkey tram terminus at the junction of Castle Street.

Buses continued along Castle Street returning to the Ulverton Road. GT19 arrived in Donnybrook in September and is still operating there in The council were opposed to this routing, especially via Convent Road, which they considered too narrow and which still to this day has no footpath heading southbound. They complained to the Garda Commissioner. It would seem that a compromise was reached with buses continuing instead along Ulverton Road towards the village, turning left onto Carysfort Road and right onto St.

It is not known exactly when this was introduced, though it was highly likely it was soon after the council meeting in March The Falcon Bus Company was the first “pirate” bus operator to compete with the trams on the Dalkey route. Though the concept of so many operators on one route sounds perfect for the passenger, the reality was somewhat different.

Buses would often ply the route solely during peak periods, with limited services in the off-peak periods. With high competition, competition with each other for passengers meant being first to the busy stops, often by using excessive speeds.

The excessive speeds lead to countless accidents across Dublin. With the introduction of this law, all bus operators in the state were obliged to obtain a license from the Minister of Industry and Commerce.

The act had provision to allow the minster to prevent wasteful competition, if it was felt an adequate and identical service was already being provided. It also required operators to publish timetables of their services and obey them rigidly. The routing was also dictated in the license and could only be adjusted if a stipulated road was impassable. The act also called for a high level of administration, with each operator required to provide the minister with passenger statistics and account ledgers on a regular basis.

AX was delivered to Dublin Bus in August , and was retained in new condition to be used for the Ryder Cup Shuttles on the 19thth September It was then assigned to Conyngham Road and was one of the vehicles assigned to the Route upon its introduction in March It has remained operating there since. The requirements of this bill lead many operators to pool resources and apply for a single license to operate the route.

In the case of Dalkey, there were two principle amalgamations of the private companies, namely the Coastal Omnibus Company, and Dublin and Dalkey Buses.

The Coastal Omnibus Company, formed in the summer of by the amalgamation of a number of the original operators on the route, being composed of 9 buses from the following sources: Bluebird 2 buses , Bluebelle 2 buses , Redcar 3 buses and Grafton 2 buses.

The existence of these companies would be exceptionally short. Following The Road Transport Act , the DUTC and the railway companies were given the right to compulsorily purchase transport operators within their operational area, again to avoid wasteful competition. On the 28th November , Dublin and Dalkey Buses were acquired, with the DUTC introducing Route 56 using two of their own buses, though soon after it was increased to 8 buses to provide a decent headway.

At this stage it was noted that Blueline, the Coastal Omnibus Company and Falcon were still operating. The 56 operated from Burgh Quay to Dalkey as shown in the following map. It principally overlapped the 8 tram service, however had a few notable differences. Firstly its city centre routing, which served Westland Row and Pearse Street which the tram route had served briefly after its extension into the city.

Map showing the Routing of Route 56 click on it for a larger version. George Knox, having the distinction therefore of being the first and last private bus competitor for the tramway on the Dalkey service. With competition on the route now settled, the high service on Routes 8 and 56 continued for another year, before, around October , tram Route 7 was reintroduced at the expense of the frequency of Route 8 services to Dalkey.

The reason was noted as the increased service on Route Dusk has well and truely settled in Dublin when EV28 is seen operating the late evening peak 7D service to Dalkey on D’olier Street on the 13th September The GTs were taking over the route, so this EV allocation was a nice catch.

EV28 was delivered to Donnybrook in September , and has operated there since. Though the Dalkey services went into a period of stability in the late 30s, the years and brought in an ominous period of change in the DUTC. All this was to change in with the arrival of double-deck buses.

The DUTC board met soon after their introduction on the 1st March and announced that their future policy was the replacement of the entire tram system by bus service. And so began a period of tram service withdrawals across Dublin up until war shortages hit in The Second World War began on the 1st September Though Ireland remained neutral there were a few instances of the Luftwaffe dropping bombs over Ireland. One such instance occurred in Sandycove on the night of the 20th December Two bombs fell between the People’s Park and Sandycove Station, principally affecting the main road which was impassable.

There were no fatalities in the incident, though three people were injured. Until the line was restored only took a few days , the Dalkey trams ran only from the city to the People’s Park, with buses taking passengers the rest of the way. The buses ran via the sea front at Seapoint returning to the main road after the affected area.

GT1 was delivered to Donnybrook garage in September entering service on Route 7 services. It is still operating in Donnybrook but its allocation is quite flexible between routes. Though Ireland was not active in the war, except for a few presumably accidental air raids upon it, it was still affected by war time shortages.

The first specific issue was to obtain buses. It would be after the war before they restarted bus production, by which time there was quite large amount of orders from everywhere in the British Isles. It was into before the next Leyland buses arrived for production. For this principle reason, the tram services on Routes 7 and 8 survived the war.

What did not survive was Route 56, which paralleled Route 8 for much of its routing. It was withdrawn on the 26th April This round of service reductions was on the order of the government who were concerned at the stocks of tyres available in Ireland due to the impossibility of importing rubber. As well as route withdrawals such as Route 56, the cutbacks also saw the last city departures of all bus routes brought forward to 10pm.

The following year it was brought forward to pm. It was a great bonus to live on the Dalkey tram route because tram route departures were not curtailed. In fact the tram services were increased slightly upon the rewithdrawal of Route 56, with trams operating every 7mins to Dalkey and 3.

It carried a few AOAs, the first being for Weight Watchers in , replaced by the Heinken livery above towards the end of It survived in this form till early before returning to fleet livery. Having spent all its time in Donnybrook it was withdrawn after less than 12 years of service in the summer of , being sold to Ensignbus, before returning to Dublin to work with Malahide Coaches for a number of years.

During coal was also in severe shortage, and the E. Futhermore, the last tram departure was brought forward to pm to match the last bus departures.

The situation worsened by the summer requiring the tram services to be withdrawn on the 11th June During the summer of it was double-deck buses which replaced the trams, specifically double-deck buses off Routes 23, 48A and 72, as well as some from further afield such as Cork, plus then newly converted RR These were former single deck TS buses withdrawn by the Great Southern Railway during the war which had double-deck bodies placed on them.

The buses were based in Donnybrook depot. However, the trams did return on the 1st October when the stricter restrictions on energy consumption were lifted, with the last trams curfew also being removed last Rt 6 to Blackrock am from the Pillar.

The Second World War ended in , however war time supply issues lasted for a number of years after the war. Other than turf, Ireland was reliant on the import of fuel, and even as late as March , fuel shortages were leading to electricity supply issues. The curtailment lasted only a few days, with services restored from the 15th, but it is an example of how shortages were still present many years after the war.

Shortages also affected the supply of buses, which held up the replacement of the trams. It was delivered to Donnybrook in May It was one of a number of buses held up in a completed state following Transbus holding company for Alexander and Dennis falling into administration.

It operated in Donnybrook for almost all of its time in Dublin Bus before spending a brief period in Harristown.

It last operated in Donnybrook on the 30th November , entering service in Harristown on the 24th January , operating mostly on peak hour “Euro” duties. It was withdrawn on the 16th June , initially for the summer, though the arrival of new SGs in Harristown before the end of the summer, meant it never operated again.

The newly created CIE, formed on the 1st Janaury with the amalgamation of the DUTC and GSR, sturggled to get new buses following the end of the war, with the major UK constructors needed to tool up again to create buses after the war effort, and with a long waiting list prioritising local UK operators.

However, CIE was able to acquire a large batch of fully built buses in Donnybrook 2 Garage was created with the intention of housing the buses that would replace the remaining tram services. At this stage the Dalkey terminus for the tram was at the Castle Street depot, the section of tramway towards Convent Road junction being abandoned circa however it is not known if the section was actually served by Route 8 for some years previous.

CIE managed to acquire 50 buses in These buses were complete, i. RR were delivered over a number of months in the summer of , being stockpiled in Donnybrook until all had been received. Once the batch was received in its entirety, an announcement was made that trams would cease operation on the 2nd July The last tram from the city was scheduled after midnight, thus this date is often quoted as the 10th July , but buses had taken over for the Sunday operation. The last night of tramway operation was marred by terrible scenes of houliganism.

A substantial crowd had turned out to see the last of the city trams, more than could be cartered for. Trams were rushed, and souvenier hunters saw no bounds in trashing trams. Such was the trouble, the last trams did not depart from the Pillar much to the sadness of those wishing to pay a respectful farewell. The last tram was No. Dual door GT buses started out on the 7, however at this stage they were prioritised for cross city services with Route 7 losing out.

These days the allocation is principally dual door, though any type can appear. EV was delivered as part of an 11 bus batch, EV, to Donnybrook garage, being delivered in late December It has operated there every since, spending quite some years principally based in the Bray outstation of Donnybrook though the allocation there is always somewhat fluid , before being one of a general pool these days.

The routing of the new bus routes were almost identical to the trams they had replaced. Route 8 terminated on St. Route 6 was every 12mins throughout the day, incredible frequencies when compared to modern standards. AX was delivered to Dublin Bus in November It was purchased for fleet expansion and remained in store in Broadstone for six months until May , when it went into service in Broadstone operating Euro duties on Ringsend depot corridors initially.

It transferred to Donnybrook in July and has operated there since. It is one of Donnybrook’s oldest vehicles presently Jan The 7A was introduced in the autumn of operating to Sallynoggin. This caused traffic congestion, and outbound buses were diverted the following day to use Townsend Street and Lombard Street East to Westland Row.

On the 12th July , the terminus was moved to the college wall on College Street, a one-way city routing introduced with inbound buses via Westland Row and Pearse Street, southbound buses proceeding via College Green, Grafton Street and Nassau Street. On the 7th August , the inbound routing was also permanently modified with buses proceeding from Nassau Street into Suffolk Street and Church Lane to College Green, instead of former routing via Grafton Street.

This bus entered service in September and has remained operating in Donnybrook since. The 5 was low frequency, approximately 14 buses per day. On the same date, Route 6 was cut back in frequency.

Yankee Terrace was a road lined on one side by small cottage dwellings. Buses were reversed into Yankee Terrace, turning right to their terminus stop, a location where the junction now exists between this new link road and Newtownpark Avenue. Map showing the bus services from to The flexibility of bus operation is seen with the number of services deviating off the main Rock Road corridor Routes 5,6 and 7A. The trams with the street infrastructure required could not have kept pace with the development of new estates in the s, nor would there always have been a justification from a cost perspective to install tramway.

Click on map for a larger version. The 50s and 60s saw a significant increase in car ownership in Dublin. At the start of the emergency , vehicle registrations in Dublin were 24, By this number had risen to 55, Only 3 years later in , this number was 65, showing the high growth rate as vehicles became more affordable, and by the number had risen to 93, By , the number of private cars alone exceeded the total number of vehicles in , with , private cars registered in Dublin on the roads. Set against this background was a significant expansion of the footprint of Dublin as new suburbs were created.

This didn’t effect the principal former tram route Route 8 , as this traversed widely developed localities, but areas such as Blackrock and Sallynoggin grew significantly.

More cars meant more traffic, exacerbated by a culture of “lucky” car owners parking as they liked, with the bus vying for ever reducing road space. The congestion significantly affected bus operations, reducing reliability and service levels as the same number or sometimes more buses provided an ever reducing frequency of service.

Reduced reliablility meant more turned to cars, causing even worse congestion and lower income from the city bus services. The expansion of Sallynoggin in the 50s resulted in a significant increase in frequency of the 7A every mins , with the 8 also being maintained on a min frequency on weekdays. The early morning Dalkey services had survived into bus days, the earliest being the ex Dalkey, followed by departure.

In this departure was advanced to , and was diverted to serve Sallynoggin Post Office, departing there at and operating then as a 7A into the city. This was the first precursor to the workman 7D service which operates today. In those days Sallynoggin Post Office was located in Longford House, across the road from where Chadwicks stands today.

Thus this departure did not proceed to Pearse Housing Estate. It moved to Donnybrook at the end of After a long period of service in Donnybrook, it transferred to Ringsend in September , spending its final year with Dublin Bus there, being withdrawn in July AV was then sold on for further use ending up with McColls of Dumbarton.

On the 16th December , new reduced services were introduced on Routes 7A and 8, principally due to congestion and falling passenger numbers. The 8 was now on a minute headway, whereas the 7A was only slightly lower in frequency.

By this time the 7A had been extended into Pearse Villas, a location it would terminate at for over 20 years. Unfortunately the exact terminus arrangements during the 60s are not precisely clear. A reversing manoeuvre would have been performed to return. At this stage the ex Dalkey was extended to serve Sallynoggin Church. This would indicate that the buses used the former terminus at the shops to turn about.

Departure time was still listed as from Sallynoggin Church. By if not originally , the terminus was on the southern side of Pearse Villas at its junction with Rochestown Park, buses waiting for time facing north-west. It is not known if buses proceeded in a loop to this location, or if a reversing manoeuvre was performed at the junction with Rochestown Park. By the mids, the terminus was definitely a loop that buses use to this day, using the square created by Pearse Street, Pearse Villas and Rochestown Park to turn about.

By the late 60s at least if not earlier , the direction of this loop was anti-clockwise opposite to the current routing of 7A buses in this location , buses terminating at the triangle of houses on the southern section of Pearse Villas where a pull in for buses is still located albeit unused.

VTs on the 7 were always rare, this being an extra due to an Ireland international rugby match taking place that day. VT25 was delivered in December to Phibsboro depot, entering service there just prior to Christmas. VT25 stayed there for just under three years, principally operating Euro peak-hour duties from the Broadstone section of Phibsboro depot.

A user rotates the actuating arm and the edge portion to a firing position, the actuating arm preventing any more discs falling from the magazine, while moving a free arm of the spring loads the spring. All the while a launching slot is blocked. The user then returns the actuating arm to the loading position. When the user pulls the trigger, the free arm of the loaded spring contacts the outer peripheral portion of the disc to eccentrically propel the disc through the launching slot and away from the launcher.

Another U. Various known feeding mechanisms employ rods, pistons or hammers which actively push darts into an adjacent launching mechanism. Feeding mechanisms are known to include an elongated arm biased into contact with a stack of darts lined up adjacent a drive wheel.

The arm is biased into contact with the upper most dart of the stack and urges the lower most dart into the barrel adjacent the drive wheel. A biased trigger and hammer arrangement push the dart through the barrel and into the drive wheel for firing the dart when the trigger is pulled. Additionally, none of the know feeding mechanisms employ a continuous belt which penetrates a dart magazine to release each dart while at the same time employs one or more protrusion elements at the belt to advance each released dart in a rapid fire into the launching mechanism with priming to assist motor driven projectile propelling flywheels in a novel fashion to assist the electric motor and reduce operation time, ramping up speed and sounds of the motor launch assembly and limiting the energy generating mechanism.

Additionally, known toy launchers do not include a torsion or linear booster spring priming mechanism that stores energy for jump starting a motor driven flywheel mechanism in a novel fashion to assist an electric motor and reduce operation time, ramping up speed and sounds of the motor launch assembly. A single motor synchronized with a trigger assembly to drive priming of the torsion spring, rotation of the flywheels, and movement of the pusher mechanism to rapidly fire darts from the toy apparatus in a novel fashion by jump starting the motor driven flywheels is also not disclosed in known toy launchers.

Significantly, rather than using two separate motors for each flywheel and a third separate motor for the projectile-feeder, the present inventions disclose projectile-feeding mechanisms configured in a novel fashion to reduce mechanism mass and cost using a single motor. The inventions additionally provide for automatic and sequenced projectile-launching operations through use of a clutch structure and power-transmission element to inject a projectile or dart into a launch-channel for engagement with the projectile-feeding mechanism operating with the single-motor configuration including feeding and launching flywheel operations not disclosed in known toy launchers.

Activating a back and forth motion of a projectile feeding mechanism to advance projectiles one by one in the flywheels occurs in sequence and only when the flywheels are rotating at operational speed. Employing a clutch structure to drive power to the projectile-feeding mechanism provides a configuration which reduces mechanism mass and cost while providing for automatic and sequenced projectile-launching operations in a novel fashion that may be configured within toy projectile-feeding and launching apparatus, having single, or multiple, motor driven apparatus for energizing the projectile-propelling flywheels.

The projectile-feeding mechanism disclosed herein operates in accord with the single-motor and flywheels through use of the clutch structure and power-transmission element sequenced to inject a projectile or dart into a launch-channel for engagement with rotating flywheels or drive wheels to launch the projectile upon the rotating flywheels being spun-up to a desired projectile-launching rotational speed. In one embodiment of the invention, a quick start flywheel mechanism includes a motor, projectile propelling flywheels linked to the motor, and a clutch structure that engages the flywheels through a flywheel gear train.

The clutch structure includes a swing gear operable between first and second positions. Also included, is a pusher mechanism disposed adjacent the flywheels and engaging the motor for advancing projectiles into the flywheels one at a time and a trigger assembly including a trigger and linkage assembly linked to the swing gear and engaging the clutch structure and the pusher mechanism, the trigger assembly jump starting rotation of the flywheels to an operating speed and activating the clutch structure when the flywheels are rotating at the operating speed, shifting the swing gear into the second position for actuating the pusher mechanism causing back and forth motion of the pusher mechanism advancing projectiles into the rotating flywheels when the trigger is pulled.

In another embodiment a single-motor powers two 2 components, flywheels and projectile-feeding mechanism off a clutch structure and a power-transmission element which may include a gear-train, or the like such as pinion gears, rather than using two separate motors for each flywheel and a third separate motor for the projectile-feeder.

The gear-train is arranged and timed such that the projectile-feeding mechanisms begins injecting when or after the rotating flywheels have spun-up to desired projectile-launching rotational speed. In another embodiment the clutch structure includes a centrifugal clutch which limits the projectile-feeding mechanism and is located between the flywheel-drive system and the projectile-feed mechanism.

In another embodiment, a cam and follower interaction included between a crank gear and a pusher mechanism linkage when the swing gear mechanically engages the crank gear powered by the motor operating to sequence and activate the pusher mechanism and fly wheel propelling mechanism. In another embodiment, a micro-switch is further included engaging the trigger and the motor for activating the motor when the trigger is depressed and shutting off power to the motor when the trigger is released.

In another embodiment, the trigger linkage assembly mechanically engages the swing gear and shifts the swing gear from a first position to the second position when the trigger is pulled, and in another embodiment, the swing gear is spring biased to the first position. In another embodiment the clutch structure includes a booster spring engaging the motor through a spring winding gear train and engaging the flywheels through a flywheel gear train. In another embodiment, the booster spring includes a torsion booster spring engaging the motor through a spring winding gear train and engaging the flywheels through the flywheel gear train, the torsion booster spring is primed to a charged position when the motor is turned on and the trigger assembly jump starting the flywheels through the torsion booster spring.

The torsion booster spring rapidly transferring stored energy from the charged torsion booster spring into the flywheels to assist the motor and jump start rotation of the flywheels before they are driven by the motor.

In another embodiment, the booster spring includes a linear spring acting through a rack and pinion gear, or an elastomeric element or the like, acting to enact a torque onto the system either directly through the flywheel mechanism or through a gearing structure such as a rack and pinion gear. In another embodiment, a toy projectile launch apparatus includes a magazine for receiving and holding projectiles, a carriage structure including a launch channel being supporting with the magazine, a feeding mechanism in communication with the magazine for injecting projectiles from the magazine into the launch channel, and a propelling mechanism coupled with the carriage structure and including flywheels in communication with the launch channel for propelling projectiles from the magazine.

A feeding and launching motor and a transmission gear assembly powered with the motor to sequence and activate the feeding mechanism and the propelling mechanism is further included and a clutch is in communication transmission gear assembly to activate the feeding mechanism with the motor. In another embodiment, the clutch is in communication transmission gear assembly powered with the motor operates to sequence and activate the feeding mechanism and the propelling mechanism, and in another embodiment, the feeding mechanism includes a spring biased cam follower from the transmission gear assembly, the spring biased cam follower which extends and retracts between a first extended and a second retracted position to engage and shuttle additional projectiles from the magazine, returning to the second retracted position to engage another projectile from the magazine.

In yet another embodiment, the clutch includes a manually operable activation trigger button. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for launching projectiles may further include steps of providing a motor, providing projectile propelling flywheels linked to the motor, providing a clutch structure engaging the flywheels, the clutch structure including a swing gear operable between a first position a second position, and providing a pusher mechanism disposed adjacent the flywheels and engaging the motor.

Further steps include providing one or more projectiles at the pusher mechanism, providing a trigger assembly including a trigger and trigger linkage assembly linked to the swing gear and engaging clutch structure and the pusher mechanism, pulling the trigger turning on the motor and jump starting rotation of the flywheels, and pulling the swing gear to the second position and into engagement with the pusher mechanism. Further steps include obtaining operating speed at the flywheels and engaging the clutch structure to rotate, and transmitting power from the motor to the pusher mechanism causing back and forth motion of the pusher mechanism advancing projectiles one at a time into the rotating flywheels when the trigger is pulled.

In another embodiment the method for launching projectiles may further include a step of providing a centrifugal clutch as the clutch structure to initiate the pusher mechanism upon the flywheels obtaining a desired rotational speed for propelling projectiles. The method for launching projectiles further includes the step of providing a micro switch engaging the trigger and the motor activating the motor when the trigger is pulled and shutting off power to the motor when the trigger is released.

In another embodiment the method for launching projectiles may further include a step of providing a trigger linkage assembly mechanically engaging the swing gear to shift from a first position to a second position, and further includes the step of spring biasing the swing gear to the first position. The method for launching projectiles further includes the step of providing a scotch gear coupled to the swing gear through a swing gear linkage securing the swing gear to shift between first and second positions.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the inventions, the accompanying drawings and description illustrate preferred embodiments thereof, from which the inventions, structure, construction and operation, and many related advantages may be readily understood and appreciated.

The following description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the described embodiments set forth in the best modes contemplated for carrying out the inventions. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Any and all such modifications, equivalents, and alternatives are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present inventions. The contents of Applicants’ Assignees’ U. A rapid-fire toy projectile launch assembly, as seen in FIGS.

The trigger assembly jump starts rotation of the flywheels to an operating through activation of the motor. A rapid fire toy projectile launch assembly 10 , as seen in FIG. The new combined mechanism with the torsion spring disclosed herein may also facilitate a non-powered single shot operation as well.

A dart or projectile entering a launch channel engages with rotating flywheels or drive wheels to project the dart. The rapid-fire toy projectile launch assembly 10 , as seen in FIG. The launch assembly also includes a housing assembly 12 and a trigger assembly mounted on the housing assembly. A combined mechanism 16 , as best seen in FIG.

A limit switch 32 , hidden behind lever 31 as seen in FIG. The Limit switch 32 operates to only allow the energy generating mechanism to be turned on when the dart magazine is fully inserted into the housing slot. The energy generating mechanism 20 is linked to the projectile propelling flywheels 22 to drive rotation of the flywheels for propelling or firing darts or other projectiles from the rapid-fire toy projectile launch assembly 10 , as best seen in FIG.

In the present described embodiment, the energy generating mechanism 20 includes a single motor which engages three items, the flywheels, torsion booster spring and pusher mechanism off one or more gear trains with the timing for each engagement being optimized for synchronization.

In the present described embodiment, the flywheels 22 include two opposed rotatable wheels which engage and advanced darts therebetween. Motor 21 drives rotation of flywheels 22 creating a launching force frictionally applied to the dart as the dart engages a wheel surface on each of the opposed rotatable wheels. The rotating wheels impart sufficient energy to the dart to launch the dart from the apparatus The motor 21 mechanically engages the flywheels 22 through a flywheel gear train 33 extending directly from the motor to the flywheels, as seen in FIG.

Gears 34 and 36 are each coupled to a flywheel, as seen in FIG. The motor 21 also mechanically engages the torsion booster spring 18 through a spring winding gear train 38 extending directly from the motor to the torsion booster spring, as seen in FIGS. The torsion booster spring is mounted on a barrel gear 40 , as best seen in FIG.

The barrel gear 40 engages gears in the spring winding gear train 38 linking the mounted torsion booster spring to the motor for priming the booster spring to a charged disposition when the motor is turned on.

The barrel gear 40 is rotated by the motor through the spring winding gear train 38 which simultaneously primes the booster spring 18 to a charged disposition storing energy in the spring.

The barrel pawl 44 is spring biased toward the barrel gear 40 to easily capture a priming stop as the barrel gear is rotated to a wound position and to more readily maintain the connection between the pawl and the stop until the pawl is mechanically removed from the stop by a user desiring to fire a dart. A new battery will allow for the barrel gear and mounted torsion spring to prime to a fully charged disposition, and a partially drained battery will still allow for the barrel gear and mounted torsion spring to prime to a partially charged disposition.

In the present described embodiment, priming stop 46 , maintains the torsion spring in a fully charged disposition, as seen in FIG. Capturing a priming stop 42 at a less then fully charged position allows the barrel gear 40 to wind the torsion spring with a battery drained to a sub-prime level.

The lower prime levels of a battery will provide less of a boost to the flywheels when the torsions spring is only partially primed, but even the lowest level at which the torsion spring is primed will still provide for a quicker flywheel ramp-up than if the flywheels were accelerated by the motor alone and without the boost of the primed torsion spring The torsion booster spring 18 engages the motor 21 through the spring winding gear train 38 , as seen in FIGS.

Immediately after the motor charges the torsion booster spring, the motor is temporarily shut off. In the present described embodiment, a micro-switch not shown linked to the motor and engaging the spring barrel pawl 44 , shuts off power to the motor when the torsion spring is primed to a charged disposition.

Alternatively, a time-delay circuit can be utilized for cutting power to the motor for a predetermined period-of-time after the torsion booster spring is primed to a charged disposition. In the present described embodiment, a first swing gear 52 , as seen in FIGS.

The torsion booster spring clutches either to the spring winding gear train 38 or the flywheel gear train 33 through the first swing gear In the present described embodiment, the first swing gear couples to the barrel gear through a linkage arm 54 which is spring biased 56 toward the spring winding gear train 38 and driven by the spring winding gear train 38 to rotate when the motor is turned on.

Rotation of the first swing gear 52 winds the barrel gear 40 and primes the torsion spring 18 to a charged disposition. A trigger assembly 58 , as seen in FIGS. In the present described embodiment, the linkage assembly 62 connects the trigger 60 to the barrel pawl 44 and the first swing gear 52 , as seen in FIG.

In use, when the motor is turned on, the spring winding gear train engages the first swing gear 52 and rotates the barrel gear 40 priming the torsion booster spring to a charged disposition. The barrel pawl 44 shifts into position to retain the booster spring 18 in a charged disposition, as seen in FIGS. A second swing gear 64 , as seen in FIGS. When the trigger is pulled, the second swing gear shifts to the first position shifting the second swing gear into engagement with the pusher mechanism 27 , causing back and forth motion of the pusher mechanism for advancing projectiles into the flywheels.

In the present described embodiment, the second swing gear 64 engages a pusher gear train portion 68 of the flywheel gear train 33 which is coupled to the motor, as seen in FIG. Linkage 62 of the trigger mechanism mechanically engages linkage 66 of the second swing gear to shift the second swing gear 64 into contact with the pusher gear train portion 68 and gear 70 connecting the motor driven pusher gear train portion 68 of the flywheel gear train 33 to the pusher mechanism.

A single pull of the trigger 60 will advance at least one single dart one at a time into the rotating flywheels for a single shot mode, and a continuous hold of the trigger will continuously advance darts into the rotating flywheels for a full auto mode that will drain the dart magazine of darts. The flywheels continue to spin while the trigger is held down, as the motor is directly coupled to the flywheels. Release of the trigger will shift the second swing gear 64 to the second position disengaging the second swing gear from the pusher gear train portion 68 of the flywheel gear train 33 and gear 70 of the pusher mechanism.

Release of the trigger also automatically reengages the motor to the torsion booster spring through the spring winding gear train 38 as the first swing gear 52 automatically shifts back toward its biased first position, and the trigger is disengaged from the system until the spring is fully wound, or the torsion spring completes priming to a less than fully wound priming stop The torsion spring is re-primed every time the trigger is released reclaiming flywheel rotational energy.

In the present described embodiment, as seen in FIGS. The pusher mechanism also includes a cam surface 76 , seen in FIG. In the present described embodiment, a single motor is synchronized with the trigger assembly to drive priming of the torsion spring, rotation of the flywheels, and back and forth movement of the pusher mechanism.

Use of one motor verses two or three to drive all the various mechanisms of the toy apparatus is novel and beneficial to reducing the cost of the toy apparatus. Additionally beneficial is the employment of two main gear trains and the shifting of a first and second swing gear to rapidly transfer the stored energy of the primed torsion booster spring to jump start the flywheels assisting the motor, and to drive the pusher mechanism to feed darts into the spinning flywheels launching darts from the apparatus The switch stays engaged until the trigger is released.

Disengagement of the grip by the user will switch the launcher off. The pulleys each include a coaxial gear within for mating with a toothed inner surface of the belt for securely driving rotation of the belt around the pulleys.

A biasing plate 92 urges belt 80 into an inserted magazine 26 and with an outermost surface 80 a of the belt gliding along the uppermost dart 28 residing in the magazine and urging the uppermost dart away from contact with retaining lips 94 and into a releasing position.

The clam shell housing 90 of the alternative feeding mechanism opens into the inserted dart magazine 26 with the biasing plate 92 and belt 80 protruding from the clamshell housing The clam shell housing 90 is inserted into the toy launch apparatus adjacent a gear train linked to the pusher motor and is pivotably coupled to the housing 12 assembly.

Axel 96 is seen in FIG. A sliding lock 98 is disposed at the clam shell housing and is in a locked position to maintain the housing 90 and contained feeding mechanism in proper engagement with the dart magazine and other presently described mechanisms of the toy launch apparatus.

The two opposed rotatable flywheels, engage and advanced darts therebetween with the flywheel motors creating a launching force frictionally applied to the dart 28 as the dart engages a wheel surface on each of the opposed rotatable wheels. The rotating wheels impart sufficient energy to the dart to launch the dart from the toy launch apparatus. The torsion booster spring engages the flywheels through a flywheel gear train and a pusher mechanism is disposed adjacent the flywheels for advancing projectiles into the flywheels one at a time.

A barrel gear for mounting the torsion booster spring and engaging with the spring winding gear train is included, and the barrel gear includes one or more priming stops. A spring barrel pawl is biased toward the barrel gear and coupled to the trigger assembly for catching one or more stops of the barrel to retain the torsion booster spring in a primed position until the trigger is pulled. Additionally, a first swing gear is coupled to the torsion booster spring and operable to swing between first and second positions, including a first position with the swing gear engaging with the spring winding gear train to prime the torsion spring to a charged disposition when the priming mechanism is manually cocked, and a second position shifting the swing gear away from the spring winding gear train and into engagement with the flywheel gear train for transferring the stored energy of the primed torsion spring into the flywheels when the trigger is pulled.

Further, a second swing gear is linked to the trigger assembly and operable between a first and second position, with the first position including the second swing gear swinging into engagement with the pusher mechanism causing back and forth motion of the pusher mechanism advancing projectiles into the flywheels when the trigger is pulled, and the second position including the second swing gear disengaging from the pusher mechanism when the trigger is released.

 
 

 

Dart feeder 330 free. Carbomaxx Feeder 330/120

 
ALE, the ideal solution for soldering processes requiring a free hand. By pressing the button, Solder Feeder Station Range. ALE. Auto-Feed Soldering. Forms Bursters, Decollators, Detachers, Feeders, Strippers and Related Accessories Fencing, Temporary (for Construction and Other Industrial or. Mess – free bird feeder. Kawamorita, Yoichi ; Kimura, Tomohiro ; Buttermore, Edward A.; and Maple, Ronald G. Dart tool.