Co. Donegal Railways

[rogerfarnworth]

Thank you Calthrop and Derek C.

Some wierd and wonderful examples on French railways. I don't know enough myself, sadly!

 

[Calthrop]

"Minor Railways of France" by W J K Davies, Plateway Press, (2000) is worth a read in this context - I find it hard to follow through its various parts, but it is packed with fascinating photographs and snippets of information and also gives a very interesting account of the local and national politics behind the construction of light railways across the country - and their rapid decline.

For sure, tantalising pictures to be seen here and there, of strange French narrow gauge / railmotor stuff. I have a fondness for the metre-gauge system of Doubs departement, centred on Besancon; whose last lines were, per Davies, abandoned in 1953. Bryan Morgan writes in The End Of The Line, concerning this one: "... Doubs line... which was one of the first light railways in France to use an internal-combustion railcar. (This was a converted bus; and since everybody knew that it must be going to a place called Amathay but not everybody knew quite what it was, they printed on its destination-blind just AUTORAIL.)" There was a Danish guy who produced a book (English text) Bygone Light Railways of Europe, published 1973 -- text and pictures both of his own explorations from the 1950s onward; and pictures by others who were active in this matter, earlier than the author. The book features a couple of such pictures of the Doubs system, taken in 1949 -- one (I wish I had the necessary skill to reproduce it here) showing a highly primitive-looking railcar with its destination-blind indeed reading "AUTORAIL".

 

[rogerfarnworth]

After completing the first two articles in the series, covering the Glenties Branch, I was put in touch with Kerry Doherty who lives in Co. Donegal and he provided a few images of the branch. I have updated the two linked articles with a total of four photographs, three of which come from Kerry Doherty and the fourth from the Co. Donegal Railway Heritage Centre. ....

For ease of access I have repeated the two links here. ....

Co. Donegal Railways, Ireland – Part 1 – The Glenties Branch – Stranorlar to Ballinamore

My wife and I were due to take our annual holidays in 2020 in April and May. We would have been staying in Co. Donegal in Ireland and would, among other things, have explored some parts of the old …

rogerfarnworth.com

Co. Donegal Railways, Ireland – Part 2 – The Glenties Branch – Ballinamore to Glenties

This article covers the Western length of the Glenties Branch of the Co. Donegal Railways. The Eastern length of the branch is covered in the first article in this series about the Co. Donegal Rail…

rogerfarnworth.com

The Glenties Branch ran through a very rural part of Co. Donegal and seemingly stopped short of what could be considered a 'sensible' destination - the Atlantic Coast. Indeed it seems as though there were quite a few people in Ardara on the coast who thought that way. There was a concerted campaign over many years to get a short extension built between Glenties and Ardara.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

This next post about the Co. Donegal Railways is the first looking at the Strabane to Letterkenny Railway. It begins at Strabane and runs as far as the town of Raphoe which was an ancient seat of temporal and spiritual power. ....

Co. Donegal Railways, Ireland – Part 4 – Strabane to Letterkenny (Part A – Strabane to Raphoe)

Wikipedia gives us a very short history of the line from Strabane to Letterkenny and provides a single image – the Railway Clearing House map with stations in Strabane and Letterkenny: The Ra…

rogerfarnworth.com

The first railway station in Letterkenny opened on 30th June 1883. The line out of Londonderry started out as the Londonderry and Buncrana Railway and was absorbed into the L&LSR in 1887. [9] That line is not the subject of this article but it is important to note that Letterkenny had been rail-served for many years before the branch from Strabane arrived in the town.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The last post above was uploaded yesterday (27th July 2020). Immediately after having sent it, I got a further email from Kerry Doherty who lives in Ballindrait close to the line. He sent me a number of additional photographs of the line, both historic and taken very recently. It seemed good to alter the article to include these pictures. If you read the article on 27th July, it is worth another look. My thanks to Kerry Doherty for the additional images referenced [45] throughout the article.

 

[Calthrop]

Fascinating material, as ever. Pictures of the Donegal system in its operational days -- as, these examples in the past couple of months' posts -- poignantly bring home to me what a delight that whole thing must have been, and how utterly splendid it would have been to experience it first-hand.

@rogerfarnworth -- am wondering if you are looking at, at some stage, giving this treatment to that oddity of this system: the section from Strabane to Londonderry (Victoria Road), situated totally within the Six Counties and -- though run as an integral part of the Donegal 3ft. gauge system, using its equipment -- ownership-wise, not part of the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee; but purely the property of the Northern Counties Committee of Britain's Midland Railway, then of the LMS; passing ultimately to the Ulster Transport Authority? I understand that railcars were not used on this section: it was 100% steam, passenger and freight, right until abandonment at the end of 1954. At the risk of being both cliche'd and un-PC: a situation which one is inclined to feel to be gloriously Irish.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Hi Calthrop. It is on the list! But so are a lot of other things!

 

[Calthrop]

Thanks -- to be possibly looked forward to some time !

(This section had the distinction of being the last narrow-gauge line operational truly in Northern Ireland -- the Donegal's lines running out of Strabane in the opposite direction, crossing into the Republic very short distances out, not really counting in that respect. That Ulster Transport Authority plain did not like railways !)

 

[Taunton]

that oddity of this system: the section from Strabane to Londonderry (Victoria Road), situated totally within the Six Counties and -- though run as an integral part of the Donegal 3ft. gauge system, using its equipment -- ownership-wise, not part of the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee; but purely the property of the Northern Counties Committee of Britain's Midland Railway, then of the LMS; passing ultimately to the Ulster Transport Authority?

Not too odd, when the County Donegal itself was owned 50-50 by the Great Northern and the NCC/Midland/LMS/UTA

 

[Calthrop]

Not too odd, when the County Donegal itself was owned 50-50 by the Great Northern and the NCC/Midland/LMS/UTA

Only; didn't the situation of Strabane -- Londonderry (Victoria Road) being "different" -- ownership all-NCC, no GNR(I) element -- originate well prior to the 1920s; at a time when when nobody had any way of knowing that it would come to pass that Ireland would be partitioned -- and all that went with that? If said "anomaly" -- or call it what you will -- had come into being as a result of Partition, one would not think it particularly strange.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

This next post is the second in a series about the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway Line. There will be a further post in due course.

Co. Donegal Railways, Ireland – Part 5 – Strabane to Letterkenny (Part B – Raphoe to Convoy)

As we noted at the start of the previous article about this line, Wikipedia gives us a very short history of the line from Strabane to Letterkenny and provides a single image – the Railway Cl…

rogerfarnworth.com

 

[Calthrop]

@rogerfarnworth: just to say, as absorbing as ever, and thank you. That Donegal system has always struck me as an utter delight; don't think I could ever feel surfeited with material about it.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Thank you Calthrop.

Within 24 hours of posting about the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway between Raphoe and Convoy, Kerry Doherty got in touch to say that he would try to gain access to the Lime Kiln and an associated bridge just to the East of Convoy. He kindly then sent me a series of photographs of the formation of the line, the bridge and the Lime Kiln itself. The link below now allows access to the amended post about this length of the line.

Co. Donegal Railways, Ireland – Part 5 – Strabane to Letterkenny (Part B – Raphoe to Convoy)

As we noted at the start of the previous article about this line, Wikipedia gives us a very short history of the line from Strabane to Letterkenny and provides a single image – the Railway Cl…

rogerfarnworth.com

 

[rogerfarnworth]

This next post completes the length of the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway

Co. Donegal Railways, Ireland – Part 6 – Strabane to Letterkenny (Part C – Convoy to Letterkenny)

As we noted at the start of the two previous articles about this line, Wikipedia gives us a very short history of the line from Strabane to Letterkenny and provides a single image – the Railw…

rogerfarnworth.com

A Journey Along the Line - Strabane to Letterkenny - Part C - Convoy to Letterkenny

We return to Convoy Railway Station which sits to the East of the Village. While we are waiting for our train, a railcar from Letterkenny stops at the station.

 

[Calthrop]

@rogerfarnworth: interesting as ever -- thank you. And as always, I find the photographs of the "County Donegal" in action, almost unbearably poignant.

Have always been fascinated by the set-up which there was at, and east of, Letterkenny: with the CDRJC line from Strabane coming up from the south-east, running for a while close by, to the south, the L&LSR line from Tooban Junction (opened a generation earlier than the Strabane & Letterkenny); then jinking round and getting via an overbridge, on to the north side of the "Swilly" 's line -- and so, lines closely parallel for the short way to their adjoining stations. (I find cause for regret that after the Strabane & Letterkenny line's opening, the county's two 3ft. gauge concerns did not find ways of collaborating with each other operationally.)

A small curiosity: I see that the Railway Clearing House map extract near the commencement of the linked item, has the lines-into-Letterkenny situation a bit wrong: it fails to show the S & L crossing over to the north side of the "Swilly" route -- has it as running south thereof, right the way into Letterkenny's station(s). Jowett's Railway Atlas, which is apt to follow the RCH maps in rather a "monkey see, monkey do" fashion, does the identical thing. Tony Dewick's Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names gets the basic idea more like right; but shows the "Donegal" crossing over to the north side of the "Swilly", a lot further east than was actually the case !

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Hi Calthrop, thanks for the comments. ......

I spent a little time trying to resolve this question and given what still exists on the ground it seems that it is possible that the more easterly location is correct.

I cannot ultimately be sure of this without visiting myself which is impossible this year. However there are some good indications of the location of the over bridge. In particular the OS Ireland historic maps show the location as I have assumed.

The contra-indication is shown on the sketch plan from the old visitor's guide to the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway but arrangements on the ground suggest that their assumptions are not right.

However, you may have more information which corrects my assumptions and it would be great if you could point me in another direction.

 

[OVS Flatbottom]

The RCH is almost certainly wrong. (Not the only thing the RCH got wrong in Ireland - Limerick Junction is another notable example, and there are probably others.) I think Jowett is particularly unreliable in Ireland, perhaps because he used fewer additional non-RCH sources than he did for GB. Johnson's Atlas - which isn't completely error-free but is much better than Jowett's Irish coverage - shows it correctly (as, I think, does the other Ireland-specific rail atlas, the older Hajducki one).

Unfortunately I don't have any books on the Donegal itself to hand, but Patterson's The Lough Swilly Railway says (page 117, 1988 edition);

A mile from the town [of Letterkenny] the Strabane & Letterkenny Railway came in on the left and crossed the Swilly to reach its terminus.

The track plan of the Swilly station at Letterkenny on the preceding page of that book also shows the S & L station to the north of the Swilly.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

It seems to me that the S&L ran on the north side of the Swilly from a point close to where it arrived from the south, probably not much more than a kilometre from the terminus which was on the North side of the Swilly. On the way it went under an accommodation road where it was already on the North side of the Swilly, crossed the River and the Port Road also on the North side of the L&SLR before curving gently to the terminus.

 

[Calthrop]

It seems to me that the S&L ran on the north side of the Swilly from a point close to where it arrived from the south, probably not much more than a kilometre from the terminus which was on the North side of the Swilly. On the way it went under an accommodation road where it was already on the North side of the Swilly, crossed the River and the Port Road also on the North side of the L&SLR before curving gently to the terminus.

(My bolding) Given this being the case: that would seem to give the lie to info from some sources in this thread, which suggest that the S&L came in from the south quite a respectable way (multiple kilometres?) east of Letterkenny town, then ran for quite some distance close by the Swilly, south of it, before doing its "hop-over" to the north side thereof.

I have Patterson's book on the Donegal (I don't possess his, on the Swilly): he's a bit terse and none too informative about the layout east of Letterkenny. He writes: "At the Letterkenny end, the line passed over that of the Letterkenny Railway [ L&LSR ] and, turning towards the west, ran in alongside it to a terminus that was beside that of the older line." My bolding, again, just above: context here would seem to suggest that there was no stretch where the Donegal trackage ran parallel to but -- before the bridge -- south of the Swilly ditto: but Patterson's wording would seem too curt for it to be possible to be totally sure. The Letterkenny track plan in Patterson's Donegal book -- @OVS Flatbottom, as with his book on the Swilly -- shows the S&L (Donegal) station, to the north of the Swilly ditto.

 

[OVS Flatbottom]

There's a 1930s (I think) 6" to the mile map on the Ordnance Survey of Ireland's GeoHive website here. (Unfortunately, GeoHive offers only one edition of the 25" map - which, for Letterkenny, predates the S & L - and two of the 6".) The map seems to confirm that the S & L passed over the Swilly then ran parallel but on a separate formation (with an apparent strip of "no man's land" between) into Letterkenny. (The alignments at https://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php - make sure the narrow gauge layer is selected - appear broadly correct too.)

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Thank you. I think 6" OS Map is the one I used in the article.tou are right, it does Turin with the route shown on railmaponline.

 

[Taunton]

It's been a few years since I came through Letterkenny but although the stations' site had become a very 21st century shopping centre, at the entrance by the main road was the town's Bus Eireann bus station, using buildings that were doubtless once the train station. I remember being surprised as the Bus Eireann operation is the old CIE one, whereas the Lough Swilly company, still around then but long a buses only operator, were also running round the town but didn't seem to go into the bus station that was on a site once theirs.

 

[OVS Flatbottom]

The Bus Éireann station is the old County Donegal one (as described in Roger's excellent article) - the adjoining Lough Swilly one is under the shopping centre car park. I think the Donegal's road services continued independently for a few years after the rail system closed in 1959, then were merged into CIÉ, which is how BÉ came to inherit the Donegal's station in Letterkenny. I don't think independent operators not under contract to BÉ have access to the latter's stations in general, though there may be exceptions. (I know that, years ago, when CIÉ refused to sell second-hand buses in running order to anyone else, there was a special exception for the Swilly, as a kind of indirect subsidy.)