Along the Line

This 1931 film from the Pathé Pictorial cinemagazine series features the Lartigue Monorail, running from Listowel to Ballybunion, Co Kerry.

The steam-powered monorail (originally designed by Frenchman Charles Lartigue) operated from 1888 to 1924 and carried passengers, livestock and freight. In this newsreel we can see how the monorail rides along supported A-shaped trestles. Footage from the roof of the train treats the viewer to footage inside the driver’s carriage as well as exciting shots of the train travelling directly towards camera. Passengers disembark and smile at camera and children wave from the carriages. The line was severely damaged during the Irish Civil War and closed in 1924. This footage, dated 1931, is presumably retrospective film before its closure. Today, visitors can visit The Lartigue Museum and experience a trip on a diesel-powered replica of the original monorail.

This film is part of The Irish Independence Film Collection – The Early Irish Free State that explores facets of Irish society after the War of Independence and up to the birth of the Irish Republic.