County Donegal Railways Joint Committee: Difference between revisions

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The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 foot gauge railway system serving county Donegal, Ireland,from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee.

History of the Donegal Railways

The lines controlled by the Joint Committee were:

The Finn Valley Railway (FVR). This was the first railway in County Donegal, running 14 miles (23 km) from Strabane – on the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) (later part of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland) – to Stranorlar. Built to Irish gauge 1600, it opened on 7 September 1863, with the L&ER supplying the rolling stock. (Original stations: Strabane, Clady, Castlefin, Liscooly, Killygordon, Cavan, Town Bridge and Stranorlar).
The West Donegal Railway: a narrow-gauge 914 extension to the FVR 18 miles (29 km) in length from Stranorlar to Donegal (stations: Stranorlar, Derg Bridge, Barnesmore, Lough Eske, Clar Bridge and Donegal Town)

In 1892 the two railways were combined to form the Donegal Railway Company, and the standard-gauge section was converted to narrow gauge. Further extensions followed, when a Government grant of £300,000 (£Error when using {{Inflation}}: |end_year=2,024 (parameter 4) is greater than the latest available year (2,023) in index "UK". as of 2024),^[1] allowed the Company to build lines between:

Stranorlar and Glenties 24 miles (39 km), opened 1895 (station: Stranorlar, Ballybofey, Glenmore, Cloghan, Ballinamore, Fintown, Shallogans and Glenties)
Donegal Town to Killybegs 19 miles (31 km), opened 1893 (station: Donegal Town, Killymard, Mountcharles, Doorin Road, Inver, Port, Dunkineely, Bruckless, Ardara Road and Killybegs)

and the following extensions were built subsequently:

Strabane to Derry 14 miles (23 km), opened 1901 (station: Strabane, Ballymagorry, Ballyheather, Donemana, Cullion, New Buildings and Derry Victoria Road)
Donegal Town to Ballyshannon 16 miles (26 km), opened 1903 (Station: Donegal Town, Drumbar, Laghey, Bridgetown, Ballintra, Rossnowlagh, Creevy and Ballyshannon)

The total mileage was now 106 miles (171 km).

On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. With the addition of the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway, 19 miles (30 km), (stations: Strabane, Lifford, Ballindrait, Coolaghy, Raphoe, Convoy, Corngillagh, Glanmaquin and Letterkenny) opened on 1 January 1909, the final total mileage was 121 miles (195 km).

The Strabane to Londonderry line was completely owned by the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee although it was operated by the CDJRC.^[2]

Dieselisation

Surviving railcars on the Isle of Man Railway

During the 1930s the County Donegal Railways became pioneers in the use of diesel traction. The first diesel railcar was built in 1930 (the first diesel railcar anywhere in the British Isles), although two further petrol-engined railcars were built before standardisation on diesel traction in 1934. Eight articulated diesel railcars were constructed by Walker Brothers of Wigan between 1934 and 1951, by which time virtually all passenger services were operated by diesel railcar. The railcars were capable of hauling trailers or freight wagons. A diesel locomotive named Phoenix (converted from a steam locomotive) was also used.

On closure at the end of 1959, the two most modern diesel railcars were sold to the Isle of Man Railway.

Statistics

Details on this, and those above, taken from Railway Year Book 1912 (Railway Publishing Company)^{[citation needed]}

Locomotives and rolling stock: 21 locomotives; 56 passenger vehicles; 304 goods vehicles
Head offices, locomotive works etc. at Stranorlar

Closure

The Glenties branch closed in 1947, the Strabane-Derry line closed in 1954 and the rest of the passenger services ended on 31 December 1959. Much of the railway was closed completely on 16 February 1960.

Tourist attraction

Part of the line, which runs alongside Lough Finn near Fintown, has been re-laid as a tourist railway.^[3]

The Donegal Railway Centre has been established and contains historic details and artefacts of the CDRJC.^[4]

St. Connell's Museum, in Glenties has an extensive display of items from the railway.^[5]

References

^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Dept. of the Environment, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
^ Fintown Railway — An Mhuc Dhubh
^ Donegal Railway Centre
^ [1]^{[dead link]}

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. With the addition of the [[Strabane and Letterkenny Railway]], 19 miles (30&nbsp;km), (stations: Strabane, [[Lifford]], Ballindrait, Coolaghy, Raphoe, Convoy, Corngillagh, Glanmaquin and Letterkenny) opened on 1 January 1909, the final total mileage was {{convert|121|mi}}.
-The Strabane to Londonderry line was completely owned by the [[Midland Railway]] although it was operated by the CDJRC.<ref>The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Dept. of the Environment, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984</ref>
+The Strabane to Londonderry line was completely owned by the [[Midland Railway]]  [[Northern Counties Committee]] although it was operated by the CDJRC.<ref>The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Dept. of the Environment, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984</ref>
 ==Dieselisation==