A revamped Tramore Railway Station, recently acquired by Waterford City & County Council, as envisaged by Brian Hanrahan (BSc Hons in Architectural Technology) who works for the Building Information Modelling Collective Research Group (BIMc) at WIT
With Waterford City & County Council’s acquisition of the Railway Station building in Tramore now a done deal, the town’s Chamber of Commerce and Tourism hopes it will be refurbished and re-opened within the next year.
Originally opened in 1853 and used as a station until the closure of the line which connected Tramore to Waterford city in 1961, revamping the Elizabethan Revival-style building on Turkey Road would mark another ticked box in the town’s 21st century renaissance.
According to Tramore Chamber’s Mary Daniels: “We’re obviously delighted that the Council has secured the building from NAMA, and this marks another clear signal of intent from the Council when it comes to investing and delivering in Tramore.”
Ms Daniels and her Chamber colleagues have suggested that the tourist office (currently located opposite the station building) would be re-housed on the ground floor, along with the creation of a new heritage centre.
The first floor, she told The Munster Express, could become a business incubation hub, but added that other potential uses for the building will be taken into consideration by the City & County Council.
“You’re talking about 2,000 square feet internally, so space is, at least in modern terms, quite limited,” she said.
“But we believe, taking the refurbishment work that the building would need into account, that it could be open and finally back in practical use inside the next 12 months, which would be fantastic.”
The building’s design is attributed to Sir John McNeill and, according to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is significant due to “its contribution to the development of Tramore as a Victorian seaside resort in the mid to late 19th century”.
The Inventory adds: “The railway station survives as the last reminder of a once-expansive complex in the town (archival images dating from the late nineteenth century illustrate a number of ancillary structures including engine houses, and so on).
“Constructed in yellow brick with fine cut-limestone work dressings, the building presents an appealing polychromatic and textured visual effect. The distinctive curvilinear gables, arcaded porches, and bipartite window openings serve to enhance the architectural quality of the design, and the building forms an elegant feature in the townscape.”
