[7] He began buying stock in the Grand Canal Company when it was available cheaply; building up a holding of £5,600 by 1830, which was available as collateral for other loans.
[8] Shepherd notes he was described as "a man of rare ability and was to prove his worth in future negotiations with the Great Western Railway".
[11][b] The resources of the firm was later to prove useful in providing working capital for the early stage of setup of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR).
[16] A subsequent 1834 bill for a small extension to Kingstown was successful though Pim had to negotiate carefully with the Admiralty including a possible Compensation Harbour.
[clarification needed][17] In 1840 D&KR officers and directors visited the Clegg and Samuda Brothers demonstration atmospheric railway at Wormwood Scrubbs.
Pim became an avid enthusiast and favourable agreements were negotiated to install the world's first commercial system between Kingstown and Dalkey, with trials from August 1843 and public opening in March 1844.
[18] The Dalkey atmospheric was to operate moderately effectively albeit not necessarily economically and not without difficulties for ten years.
Ten years later the WWW&DR exercised those rights and the D&KR ceased to be a train operating company.
Thomas Pim served on the D&KR provisional committee and was appointed chairman of the board of directors on 2 December 1892.