County Donegal Railways Joint Committee

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The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated in north-west Ireland, during the 20th century. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorized 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:

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 allowed the Company to build lines between:

and the following extensions were built subsequently:

The total mileage was now 105 miles (168 km); on 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. With the addition of a new line from Strabane to Letterkenny, 19 miles (30 km), (station stops: Strabane, Lifford, Ballindrait, Coolaghy, Raphoe, Convoy, Corngillagh, Glanmaquin and Letterkenny) opened on 1 January 1909, the final total mileage was 111 miles (178 km).

Dieselisation

During the 1930s the County Donegal Railways became pioneers in the use of diesel traction. The first diesel railway was built in 1930 (the first diesel railcar anywhere in the British Isles), although two further petrol-engineed 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 waggons. A diesel locomotive named Phoenix (converted from a steam locomotive) was also used.

Upon 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)

  • 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.[1]

The Donegal Railway Centre has being set up to contain historic details and artefacts of the CDRJC.[2]

St. Connell's Museum, in Glenties has an extensive display of items from the railway.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.antraen.com/
  2. ^ http://www.cdrrl.com/
  3. ^ http://www.glenties.ie/ws_business_details.aspx?Business_ID=539&Region=Glenties&Business_Name=St.+Connells+Cultural+and+Heritage+Museum&Section=Attractions

Further reading

  • The Phoenix. 1–23. County Donegal Railway Restoration Ltd. 1992–2005. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
  • Begley, Joe. The County Donegal Railway A Visitors Guide. ISBN 1-874518-04-1.
  • Flanders, Steve (1996). The County Donegal Railway An Irish Railway Pictorial. ISBN 1-85780-054-0.
  • Crombleholme, Roger (2005). The County Donegal Railways Companion. ISBN 1-85780-205-5.
  • Bell, Dave (2001). County Donegal Railway Restoration Society 10 years.
  • Architectural Heritage of the Narrow Gauge Railways of County Donegal. County Donegal Railway Restoration Ltd. 2003.
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