Having successfully built a railway line out of their own money, they now had to get the ordinary people to use the new service. It took 15 minutes to get in to Waterford from Tramore. The first day it opened on 15th of September 1853.Over 10,000 people came to view the trains.

Here is an account of the first day 's service from a local newspaper --:

"It was a big day for the first train to Tramore and all the fields along the route were dotted with people all out to catch a glimpse of the new wonder. For many it was their first look at "the iron horse that pulls the cars behind it".

Tramore at this time was beginning to expand and in a stroke of genius the company announced that people building new houses in Tramore would have their building materials carried free by the new railway. The Directors also presented each person who was building in Tramore with a free travel pass on the railway for five years. Many took up this generous offer.

The Directors also issued free travel passes to the Christian Brothers, the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Sisters of Charity to travel as often as they liked between Tramore and Watterford.

The Directors also did a deal with the Grand Hotel in Tramore and offered a special rate for rail and hotel tickets. If you booked into the Grand Hotel in Tramore for a week, you received a free return rail ticket into Waterford free. The train service was a great success from it first day of service. Such was the crush for the 7.30pm train in the first week that the police had to be called in to prevent a riot.

Introduction Early History First Train Developments Accidents Steam Close