Survey Data
Reg No
15400607
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social
Original Use
Railway station
Date
1870 - 1880
Coordinates
233151, 269009
Date Recorded
16/11/2004
Date Updated
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Description
Detached three-bay single-storey former railway station, built in 1877. Now out of use and derelict. Pitched natural slate roof with overhanging eaves and cast-iron rainwater goods. Constructed of squared rusticated limestone over projecting chamfered plinth with flush brick quoins to the corners. Square-headed openings with brick dressings having the remains of timber sliding sash windows and the remains of timber door to the centre of the front façade (south). Located adjacent to level crossing (15400608), to the northwest of Rathowen and the south of Streete.
Appraisal
A modest small-scale railway station, as befits a small rural stop of this nature, which retains its early character despite being out of use for a considerable period of time. This unassuming station was built by The Midland and Great Western Railway in 1877, serving the Dublin-Sligo line, and was closed in 1963. It is well constructed using good quality materials and has a robust quality that is typical of the railway architecture of the Victorian period. It forms a pleasant group of railway-related structures with the level crossing gates and cross guards house adjacent to the east (15400608) and is a interesting, if subtle, reminder of the great age of the railways in Ireland during the late nineteenth-century. It adds another layer to the interest to the Streete area and is a modest addition to the industrial heritage of Westmeath.