Ebbie, there are some other stories in the thread linked to above (The Naming of Cats), but in the meantime here is an account of some of the personalities behind the Underground Railway.

The Four Cornered Railway

From the start of operations in 1923 the Dublin Underground Railway was governed by the four Corner brothers, with the eldest brother Mr. Lawrence H. Corner acting as Chairman and Managing Director. It was he who was responsible for compiling the Regulations of the Railway; a massive volume, which like the Ten Commandments, comprised more a list of prohibited activities than a guide to proper conduct. And, just like the Bible in the wrong hands, the Regulations provided a useful primer in illicit activities for idlers and miscreants seeking new ways to commit old crimes.

Occasionally the copious attention to detail drew the attention of the authorities. The section that provided for a segregated compartment for unwed mothers (to prevent contamination of the morals of respectable Irishwomen) earned the wrath of the Archbishop who refused to allow that such a category could exist in the new Free State. Mr. Lawrence attempted to mollify the anger of the Church by allowing free passage for priests. Unfortunately the reference in the Regulations to "unmarried Fathers" only ensured the banning of that particular edition of the Regulations by the Censorship Board.

Mr. Richard H. Corner was the Treasurer and Company Secretary, and was also responsible for drawing up the Railway Timetable. This has been described as "the greatest work of Irish fiction," but to be fair, not all the problems were of their own making.

When the Railway had originally been constructed under British rule just before the Great War provision had been made for a dual set of tracks to allow trains to travel in opposite directions. However the precarious finances of the new state only allowed enough money to lay one line of track, and a single locomotive to run on it. This meant that the train could only travel in a clockwise direction, and that the short journey from Wolfe Tone Station to Emmet Station could only be accomplished via McCracken, Napper Tandy, Fitzgerald, and Drennan stations. Delays were endemic on the line, and although the whole circuit of the route was timetabled to take precisely 46 minutes there is no record of this time ever actually being achieved outside of carefully staged trials when no passengers were carried.

The remaining Railway Board members were the younger Corner twins; Stephen William and Niall Eoghain, who were known as the "Opposite Corners" on account of their extreme difference in temperaments. Niall was a dedicated adherent of the anti-Treaty cause, and subsequently a loyal follower of De Valera and his Fianna Fáil party. For a while he insisted on speaking only in Gaelic at Board meetings until he noticed that the other brothers were simply ignoring him. He had his revenge however by insisting that the Regulations and the Timetable should be printed in bilingual editions.

Stephen was characterised by his twin as a "West Briton". He strongly supported the Free State Government and its policies, and on more than one occasion attempted to have Niall removed from the Board on account of his association with "fanatics and desperadoes."

The brothers were united however in their belief in the Railway, and its status as a modern, efficient transport system. The minutes of the Board meetings provide a fascinating account of the problems they faced, and of the solutions they devised, in this enterprise.

To be continued.