Buncrana | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General information | |||||
| Location | Buncrana, County Donegal Ireland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°07′39″N7°27′26″W / 55.1275°N 7.4573°W | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 9 September 1864 | Station opens | ||||
| 6 September 1948 | Station closes for passengers | ||||
| 10 August 1953 | Station closes | ||||
| |||||
Buncrana railway station served Buncrana in County Donegal, Ireland.
The station opened on 9 September 1864 on the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway line from Londonderry Graving Dock to Buncrana. It was designed by the Derry architect Fitzgibbon Louch. [1]
The main station building was burned down in August 1903. A servant girl living the station accidentally upset oil lamp over the refreshment rooms, and in a few minutes the whole building was ablaze. The station master rescued his wife and family, and also got out some the railway papers. The damage to the station was estimated to be £5,000 in 1903 prices. [2]
On 4 September 1905, the front axle of a train approaching the station suddenly broke. The train overran the station and the points were torn up for considerable distance. Although no one was injured in the accident, the station was forced to close until repairs were made. [3]
An 18 year old engine cleaner — Hugh McLaughlin from Londonderry - was found dead in the station pump room on 9 December 1909. He lit a fire in the room for warmth and then went to sleep. However there was no outlet for the smoke and McLaughlin died of smoke inhalation. [4]
On 30 July 1922, during the Irish Civil War, Buncrana was captured by the Free State forces from Anti-treaty forces. The Free State forces held the railway station and all the roads entering the town. Later that day, 100 Free State troops commandeered a train at Buncrana station and proceeded to take Clonmany, Carndonagh and other locations on the peninsula. [5]
The station closed for passengers on 6 September 1948. [6] In December 1952, the Irish minister of industry and commerce signed an order authorizing the closure of rail services to Buncrana. [7] Freight services were finally terminated on 10 August 1953. [8]
The station buildings still exist. They were purchased in 1952 by Dan and Molly Porter and have been converted to a public house – The Drift Inn. [9] It is recorded on the Record of Protected Structures in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Ireland. [8]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisfannon Links Halt | Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Londonderry- Carndonagh | Ballymagan |
Clonmany is a village and civil parish in north-west Inishowen, in County Donegal, Ireland. The Urris valley to the west of Clonmany village was the last outpost of the Irish language in Inishowen. In the 19th century, the area was an important location for poitín distillation. Outside the village, there are a number of notable townlands, including Kinnea (Rockstown), Crossconnell, Dunaff, and Leenan.
Inishowen is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
Dunfanaghy is a small town, former fishing port, and commercial centre on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay, on the N56 road, 30 km north-west of Letterkenny.
Ailt an Chorráin or Ailt a' Chorráin is a Gaeltacht fishing village about 7 km (4 mi) northwest of Dungloe in The Rosses district of County Donegal, Ireland. The main employers in the village were the Burtonport Fishermen's Co-op and the Bord Iascaigh Mhara ice plant; but these have both since closed and their former premises were demolished in 2021 as part of a seafront environment upgrade scheme.
Buncrana is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, 23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of Derry and 43 kilometres (27 mi) north of Letterkenny. In the 2022 census, the population was 6,971, making it the second most populous town in County Donegal, after Letterkenny, and the largest in Inishowen.
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords in Ireland.
An Clochán Liath, known in English as Dungloe, is a town on the west coast of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in The Rosses and the largest in the Donegal Gaeltacht. Dungloe developed as a town in the middle of the 18th century, and now serves as the administrative and retail centre for the west of County Donegal, and in particular The Rosses, with the only mainland secondary school for the area.
The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company was an Irish public transport and freight company that operated in parts of County Londonderry and County Donegal between 1853 and 2014. Incorporated in June 1853, it once operated 99 miles of railways. It began the transition to bus and road freight services in 1929. It closed its last railway line in July 1953 but continued to operate bus services under the name Lough Swilly Bus Company until April 2014, becoming the oldest railway company established in the Victorian era to continue trading as a commercial concern into the 21st century. Following a High Court petition by HM Revenue and Customs, the company went into liquidation and operated its final bus services on 19 April 2014.
Manorcunningham, or Manor is a small village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located 7 kilometres from Letterkenny on the main road to Derry. It is known locally and throughout Donegal as just Manor.
Dungloe railway station was located north of Lough Meela, about 5 km from the town of Dungloe in County Donegal, Ireland.
Crolly railway station served the hamlet of Crolly in County Donegal, Ireland.
Barnes Halt railway station served a location midway between Creeslough and Kilmacrenan in County Donegal, Ireland.
Churchill railway station served the village of Churchill in County Donegal, Ireland.
Oldtown railway station served the district of Oldtown, Letterkenny in County Donegal, Ireland.
Letterkenny (LLS) railway station served the town of Letterkenny in County Donegal, Ireland.
Tooban Junction railway station served Tooban in County Donegal, Ireland.
Carndonagh railway station is a disused station that served the town of Carndonagh and surrounding area in County Donegal, Ireland. It was the terminal station on the branch line of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Line that served the northern part of the Inishowen peninsula. This extension was known as the Buncrana to Carndonagh branch line, and measured 18.5 miles. The line was sometimes also known as the Carndonagh extension.
Ballyliffin railway station served Ballyliffin in County Donegal, Ireland. Built by the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway Company, the railway station was in use from 1901 to 1935.
Clonmany railway station served Clonmany in County Donegal, Ireland.
Letterkenny (CDR) railway station served the town of Letterkenny in County Donegal, Ireland.
