Omagh Station Buildings

[GNRi1959]

Does anyone have access to the archives at IRRS in Dublin. Would be interesting to know if architects drawings are available for Omagh GNRi station. I've spent a lot of time extracting information from over 100 photographs but one last shot at finding the actual drawings would be great. I have the engineers track plans and building plans but some areas of the elevations are difficult, without photographs of every corner.

[jhb171achill]

I'm a member myself, Tony, but rarely get the chance to delve; at least a few others here are reasonably regular attenders - though best to try to visit yourself some time if possible?

[Mayner]

It might be worth while contacting the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra

 

GNR, NCC & BCDR carriage and wagon drawings are available from Cultra, so its possible drawings for GNR assets in Northern Ireland went to the UFTM rather than the IRRS

[GNRi1959]

John, not a bad thought. I've just emailed them.

[PaulC]

Tony, please let me know how you get on with the Transport Museum. I contacted them a couple of months ago with the same enquiry regarding Ballymena Statuon but never received a reply. Now, that may have been down to the general enquiry email address I used and not the curator hotline!

 

If you get success, I will give them another go myself.

 

Paul

[Colin R]

Hi Tony

 

If you need rolling stock plans you can also contact this guy at http://www.countydownrailwaymuseum.org.uk/trust-publications.

 

It may not be fast, but you do get an answer from him and he has helped me out no end with a load of extra details about the old Downpatrick railway station that was.

 

I should add that I have been told that a lot of GNRi and other northern Ireland railway paperwork was put in a skip when it was moved from the old Belfast archive rooms to the public records office, as there was just to much of it to move, some of it ended up with IRRS and some ended up in private collections but the rest has gone sadly.

 

If it is building details you require try the local council to where the station was located as sometimes they had on to the old plans for a building due to planning approval for years and they might not even know what they have got, either.

 

Colin

Edited May 31, 2017 by Colin R

[GNRi1959]

Sadly, the Transport and Folk Museum have nothing.

I'll try the local council offices, after all, they demolished it in 1971!

[jhb171achill]

Hi Tony

 

If you need rolling stock plans you can also contact this guy at http://www.countydownrailwaymuseum.org.uk/trust-publications.

 

 

Be wary, though, about anything that this "organisation" might have to say about others in the entire preservation world, and even more wary of the endless and bizarre plans outlined on the website. I notice, incidentally, that the website has been revamped. This is doubtless due to the removal of some potentially libellious content in recent times!

[Andy Cundick]

Tony,Another thing you can do is to track down a large scale OS map which features the station.i did this with Castlederg as Alan Godfrey maps does one which includes the station.I had the dimensions for the main building as that survives.The map and my measurements agreed(amazingly)and so i scaled the rest of the buildings from the map.Andy

[jhb171achill]

Tony,Another thing you can do is to track down a large scale OS map which features the station.i did this with Castlederg as Alan Godfrey maps does one which includes the station.I had the dimensions for the main building as that survives.The map and my measurements agreed(amazingly)and so i scaled the rest of the buildings from the map.Andy

 

Very good thinking!

[GNRi1959]

Cheers all, I actually have the official GNRi engineers track plan and buildings plan which I obtained from Paddy Mallons archive in Drogheda. This is very accurate however now that I have drawn the plans and elevations in autoCad I find there is one little corner that appears to be an 'extension' and it needs to be teased out a little better to work. There is a lack of photographs of this area, however, Charles Friel came to the rescue this evening with something new that will help. Full Steam ahead!!!

[murrayec]

Be wary, though, about anything that this "organisation" might have to say about others in the entire preservation world, and even more wary of the endless and bizarre plans outlined on the website. I notice, incidentally, that the website has been revamped. This is doubtless due to the removal of some potentially libellious content in recent times!

 

I have to agree with JHB here, a very odd site, they plan to develop land which does not have any of the original features, bridges are gone the cutting is partially or fully filled in and used as parkland/walkway for residential amenity!! Google maps tells all...

 

Eoin

[Colin R]

Be wary, though, about anything that this "organisation" might have to say about others in the entire preservation world, and even more wary of the endless and bizarre plans outlined on the website. I notice, incidentally, that the website has been revamped. This is doubtless due to the removal of some potentially libellious content in recent times!

 

 

Yes some one else told me to be wary about the group, which from what I can find out is nothing but a one man band.

 

I have as yet to buy any of the publications, but there are a few which I would have though deserved to remain in print but are not at present.

 

As for the groups heritage aspirations, I don't think that is going to happen, he is still advertising that they are after two UK standard gauge steam locos, which having spoken to one of the former owners, I understand that they have both been sold to another railway in the UK.

 

Sadly the heritage railway World has more than a few people who want to preserve every nut and bolt, but are not willing to co-operate with an established group to achieve their aims. They prefer to go off and do their own thing.

 

That said he appears to be have a lot of knowledge about the B&CDR for which I am very thankful.

 

Colin

[GNRi1959]

I also have a copy of an Ordnance Survey map which shows the track layout and buildings pre-1957 and an architect kindly gave me some aerial shots over the town and station buildings.

[Colin R]

Hi Tony that Paddy Mallons archive looks interesting, can you recall what else was in there? it state it has some drawings of Locomotives and Carriage's, do you think they would photocopy them for research and modelling use?

 

Colin

[GNRi1959]

Colin, back in the early 80s when Paddy Mallon was alive, he frequently copied all locomotive and wagon books for me at no cost and after I married and moved house I gave many of them to various Irish modellers around the country. His collection is with Louth County Council but they are vey slow at acting upon requests. A few years ago one of their archivists took the time to do A3 scans of the Omagh track plans from the GNRi Engineers Book and this cost me £25. Since this I have sent in other requests, and never got a response. Worth trying but Richard McLachlan has probably got whatever you are after anyway.

[waffles]

In 1958 the majority of the drawings held in Dundalk works of stations over the northern side of the border were passed on to the UTA who passed them on to the government of Northern Ireland archive who destroyed them as they were deemed to have no value.

All the drawings of Omagh held by the IRRS were copied digitally and those copies were supplid to you a while ago.

[jhb171achill]

Much of what DID go the way of the Public Records Office in the north was lost, jumbled up, or discarded in the 1970s.

 

I have been researching aspects of the Lagan Canal in recent years and have encountered the same.

 

Even some sorting and indexing of volumes of randomly jumbled up stuff, carried out by volunteers in the seventies, was subsequently lost.