Significant anniversaries

[David Holman]

 While going through my Irish Rail Atlas, noticed that there could well be quite a few 'big' anniversaries this year, or indeed other times too. For example, it shows the Dundalk, Greenore & Newry line opening between those first two places in 1873, which makes this year its 150th anniversary.

 Feel sure there must be others, including ones when lines or stations closed and likewise there are folk out there to fill in the gaps!

[Westcorkrailway]

Didn’t steam end around this time 60 years ago. I don’t think there is an exact date but sometime febuary 1963 officially??

 

1893 saw the last extension to the cork bandon and south coast railway (discounting the cork city railway) to Baltimore in May 1893. Some 130 years ago!

 

 

[airfixfan]

Plan a number of events this year to mark 70 years since the last trains of the Lough Swilly in August 1953.

[Westcorkrailway]

The macroom closed in 1953 as did the schull and skibbereen (on paper anyway) 

 

1953 was the year CIE got there AEC railcars too? 
 

I think there was a few other closures in 1953. The T&D Possibly too 

[gph2000]

16 hours ago, David Holman said:

 While going through my Irish Rail Atlas, noticed that there could well be quite a few 'big' anniversaries this year, or indeed other times too. For example, it shows the Dundalk, Greenore & Newry line opening between those first two places in 1873, which makes this year its 150th anniversary.

 Feel sure there must be others, including ones when lines or stations closed and likewise there are folk out there to fill in the gaps!

I think the legendary Jimmy Magee worked for the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore before going into sports broadcasting.

[David Holman]

See that it is 100 years since the closure of the Castleblaney, Keady and Armagh railway between this first two places. The line had only opened in 1910, but was a victim of partition. 

 Passenger services continued from Armagh to Keady until 1932 and freight until 1957.

 If you thought that was short lived, the line from Birr to Portumna Bridge only lasted from 1868 to 1878

[Patrick Davey]

The Armagh-Castleblayney line must have cost a fortune to build with at least three huge viaducts required, at Milford, Tassagh and Keady, thankfully all still standing (haven't actually seen the Milford one so open to correction!)

Unsurprisingly there aren't too many photos of the Keady-Castleblayney section in operation.....if there are any at all in fact.

But a fascinating stretch of railway all the same.

[leslie10646]

Well spotted, David.

The line resulted in several remarkable viaducts which still stand today and are fairly easy to photograph.

On my return journey yesterday to Dublin and then Holyhead, Richard McLachlan kindly ran me down to Greenore (after a meeting in Dundalk with DN&GR expert John Martin).

It's brilliant to see 2/3 overbridges beautifully maintained along the old route. Greenore itself was a revelation - we were too late to visit the famous LNWR Co-Op with its tearoom and model railway, but the sight of the original terraces of houses and the water towers of the station made the trip worthwhile - oh and the lovely scenery along the Cooley Pennisula.

What a lovely place to have a railway!

As stated earlier, I was too late to complete the journey to Holyhead by the original LNWR steamers!

[leslie10646]

14 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

The Armagh-Castleblayney line must have cost a fortune to build with at least three huge viaducts required, at Milford, Tassagh and Keady, thankfully all still standing (haven't actually seen the Milford one so open to correction!)

Unsurprisingly there aren't too many photos of the Keady-Castleblayney section in operation.....if there are any at all in fact.

But a fascinating stretch of railway all the same.

Patrick, it is some years since I explored the line with the late Des Fitzgerald, but i think that you are right that three remain. My memory is that one at least was invisible until you had gone down a minor road which ran under it!

Driving South yesterday, I of course saw the Dromore viaduct beside the A1 near Dromore - another remarkable survivor!

[Branchline121]

On 18/4/2023 at 11:31 PM, Patrick Davey said:

The Armagh-Castleblayney line must have cost a fortune to build with at least three huge viaducts required, at Milford, Tassagh and Keady, thankfully all still standing (haven't actually seen the Milford one so open to correction!)

Unsurprisingly there aren't too many photos of the Keady-Castleblayney section in operation.....if there are any at all in fact.

But a fascinating stretch of railway all the same.

The line was supposed to have made it to Kingscourt, if that had came to fruition that part of the railway probably would have lasted a bit longer.

[Old Blarney]

"The line was supposed to have made it to Kingscourt, if that had came to fruition that part of the railway probably would have lasted a bit longer.

The Dublin and Meath  Railway Company way back in 1865 had reported an increase in their traffic of 19%. At that time they had plans to extend their line from Navan  to Kingscourt and even for an extension to Castleblaney, where it was hoped to join the Irish North Western Railway. The Navan and Kingscourt  Railway Act was passed in July (1865)  to run from a junction with The Dublin and Meath at Navan to Kingscourt.   Move forward to November 1887 when the Dublin and Meath sold their company to the Midland Great Western who purchased it provided there was also an agreement to purchase the Navan and Kingscourt railway.

The Great Northern built the Armagh to Castleblainey to stop the midland gaining access to Armagh. 

 

For a detailed history I recommend reading -- The Midland Great Western railway of Ireland  --An Illustrated History -- Ernie Shepherd 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Old Blarney

[Branchline121]

36 minutes ago, Old Blarney said:

"The line was supposed to have made it to Kingscourt, if that had came to fruition that part of the railway probably would have lasted a bit longer.

The Dublin and Meath  Railway Company way back in 1865 had reported an increase in their traffic of 19%. At that time they had plans to extend their line from Navan  to Kingscourt and even for an extension to Castleblaney, where it was hoped to join the Irish North Western Railway. The Navan and Kingscourt  Railway Act was passed in July (1865)  to run from a junction with The Dublin and Meath at Navan to Kingscourt.   Move forward to November 1887 when the Dublin and Meath sold their company to the Midland Great Western who purchased it provided there was also an agreement to purchase the Navan and Kingscourt railway.

The Great Northern built the Armagh to Castleblainey to stop the midland gaining access to Armagh. 

 

For a detailed history I recommend reading -- The Midland Great Western railway of Ireland  --An Illustrated History -- Ernie Shepherd 

Um, the GNRI didn’t build the Armagh-Castleblayney but operated its services and acquired it in 1911, and the INWR was already there, so that couldn’t have blocked the line; might you be referring to the Carrickmacross branch opened by the GNRI in 1886? I will take into consideration your book.

[Mayner]

The politics behind extending the Dublin and Meath to Armagh and further north are fairly complicated.

There were completing proposals for inland (via Navan and Armagh) and coastal routes between Dublin and to link up with the Ulster Railway at Portadown during the "Railway Mania" era of the 1840s.

Later post "Railway Mania" era schemes included plans to extend the Navan-Kingscourt line beyond Armagh to connect with the Belfast and Northern Counites at Cookstown. A line to Cookstown would have allowed the MGWR to tap into brick and coal traffic from the Tyrone coal field and tourist traffic to an from Portrush over the Derry Central between Macfin-and Magherafelt.

The D&M/N&K plans for a Kingscourt-Castleblaney-Armagh line appear to have been serious enough to locate Kingscourt Station at the bottom of a hill at distance from the town laid out as a through station. The N&K basically appears to have run-out of money when they reached Kingscourt and the MGWR was highly unlikely to subscribe capital to building branch lines preferring the locally owned companies or the Government take the risk.

The GNR would not have wanted a MGWR line entering its territory and blocked a Kingscourt-Castleblaney line by building the Carrickmacross Branch.

if you have access to the IRRS library GR Mahon wrote an excellent series of Journal Papers on Irish Railways during the 1860s-1870s during the 1970s including the Dublin & Meath and Navan & Kingscourt and proposals for extending to Armagh and further north.

[Old Blarney]

9 hours ago, Branchline121 said:

Um, the GNRI didn’t build the Armagh-Castleblayney but operated its services and acquired it in 1911, and the INWR was already there, so that couldn’t have blocked the line; might you be referring to the Carrickmacross branch opened by the GNRI in 1886? I will take into consideration your book.

Branchline 121

Thank you for your rebuke.  My wording was clumsy.  Perhaps I should have written - The building of the railway line from Armagh to Castleblainey put a stop to any future expansion of this line by the Midland. 

Mayner

Thank you for your  explanation on the politics behind extending the Dublin and Meath to Armagh and further north. 

OB.