Foyle Valley Railway Museum is a museum in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is run by the charity Destined and is dedicated to the history of narrow gauge railways in the surrounding area. A heritage railway named Foyle Valley Railway previously ran from the museum.
After the last remaining line of the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee (CDRJC) closed in 1960, an American airline businessman named Dr Ralph Cox bought a large number of its assets, including many pieces of rolling stock. He had plans to use these for a heritage railway in New Jersey, but the high cost of shipping prevented anything from crossing the Atlantic. The rolling stock stayed in situ at Strabane, Letterkenny and Stranorlor where it was exposed to the effects of the weather and vandalism. [1] [2]
In 1970, the North West of Ireland Railway Society (NWIRS) was set up to acquire and preserve what remained of Dr Cox's collection. It leased Victoria Road station in June 1972 and opened it as a museum in March of the following year. Between August and November of 1974, five pieces of rolling stock were moved to the museum (nos. 6, 12, 14, 18 and 19). A short section of track was relaid and the two railcars (nos. 12 and 18) began running in May 1975. This was given the name Foyle Valley Railway and there were plans to extend it along the CDRJC trackbed to as far as Prehen Park, however it only ever reached a length of 300 metres (330 yd). In December 1978, a retailer bought the station site and the museum was forced to hastily close. The rolling stock found a new temporary home at Shane's Castle Railway. [1] [2] [3]
In 1986, Derry City Council constructed a new purpose-built building for the museum. This was on the site of a former goods yard of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) near what was previously Foyle Road station. The NWIRS rolling stock was returned to Derry and was joined by a few more items which had been at Strabane. Track for the Foyle Valley Railway was laid again, this time along the GNR trackbed towards Carrigans. The two railcars resumed running along the railway in 1993, which reached a final length of 2 miles 20 chains (3.6 km). [4] [5] [6] [7]
In October 2000, the council made a decision to take over the running of the museum and railway from the NWIRS due to health and safety concerns. The running of trains was ceased and the two parties entered into a public dispute. [6] [8] The museum was then council-run, albeit with some periods of closure, until the charity Destined took out a 50-year lease on the building in 2016. After being renovated, the museum reopened in 2023. [9] [10] [11]
The museum contains several preserved railway vehicles, most of which are from the former County Donegal Railways Joint Committee, arranged around a mock station platform. Costumed tour guides are available to show visitors around. [12]
| Number | Type | Build date | Original operator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4wDM diesel shunter | 1956 | Motor Rail | |
| 4 | 2-6-4T steam locomotive | 1907 | CDRJC | Stored outside. Originally no. 16 Donegal but renamed and renumbered to no. 4 Meenglas in 1937. Superheated in 1926. [13] |
| 6 | 2-6-4T steam locomotive | 1907 | CDRJC | Originally no. 18 Killybegs but renamed and renumbered to no. 6 Columbkille in 1937. Superheated in 1925. [3] |
| 12 | diesel railcar | 1934 | CDRJC | Built by the GNR at Dundalk. Worked the last train from Killybegs on 31 December 1959. [3] |
| 14 | composite carriage | 1893 | CDRJC | Contains five compartments, of which two were originally first class. Converted to all third class in 1937. [3] |
| 18 | diesel railcar | 1885 | CDRJC | Built by the GNR at Dundalk. Burnt out in 1949 but was repaired. [3] |
| 19 | goods van | 1881 | CDRJC | Adapted with vacuum breaks for towing behind the diesel railcars. [3] |
| 30 | third class carriage | 1901 | LLSR | Only known surviving Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Carriage. [12] |
| ? | hand-worked crane | ? | LLSR |
| Number | Type | Build date | Original operator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | diesel railcar | 1885 | CDRJC | Built by the GNR at Dundalk. Burnt out in 1949 but was repaired. Now at Fintown Railway. [3] [14] |
Destined plans to lease more land to the south of the current site to use as a community garden. There are tentative plans to rebuild some of the railway to link this with the museum. [12]
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the largest city in County Londonderry, the second-largest in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. The old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, which is spanned by two road bridges and one footbridge. The city now covers both banks.
Strabane is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.
The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.
The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a 5 foot, 3 inch gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using steam and diesel locomotives, diesel railcars, and vintage carriages. The railway has approximately three miles (4.8 km) of track in a triangular-shaped layout, which connects the town of Downpatrick with the historical sites of Inch Abbey to the north and King Magnus’ Grave to the south. It also houses a museum of railway artefacts and rolling stock originating from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, dating from the 1860s to the 1980s.
The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 ft narrow 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.
This is a bibliography for the history of rail transport in Ireland.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, and the company was liquidated in 1958: assets were split on national lines between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann.
The Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNRI) AEC Class were Associated Equipment Company (AEC)–engined diesel multiple units that operated InterCity and suburban services on the GNRI and later Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) systems between 1950 and 1975. They were finally withdrawn in 1972. They were the inspiration for the CIÉ 2600 Class.
The Strabane Canal is a short (6.5 km) canal in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It connected the market town of Strabane to the navigable River Foyle and from there to the port of Foyle Port on the north coast of Ireland. The canal opened in 1796 and closed in 1962.
The Clogher Valley Railway was a 37-mile-long (60 km), 3 ft narrow gauge railway in County Tyrone and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It opened in May 1887 and closed on 1 January 1942.
The Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway was a 3 ft narrow gauge railway operating in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It opened in 1883 and closed in 1933.
00n3 is the description given to modelling 3 ft narrow gauge railways in 4 mm scale with 12 mm gauge track. 3 ft prototypes were common in Ireland and the Isle of Man, but the scale is not generally used outside the British Isles. 12 mm gauge track is the same as that used in TT scale and HOm, so some components used for those scales can be used.
The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland.
The Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh Junction Railway (PD&O) was an Irish gauge railway in County Armagh and County Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland.
The Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway (E&BR) was an Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in railway company in north-west Ireland. It linked Bundoran and Ballyshannon on the Atlantic coast of Donegal with the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) at Bundoran Junction in Fermanagh. The line was opened in 1868 and closed in 1957.
The Strabane and Letterkenny Railway was a 3 ft narrow gauge railway line between Strabane, County Tyrone and Letterkenny, County Donegal in Ireland.
Londonderry Victoria Road railway station served Derry, County Londonderry, in Northern Ireland.
The A40 links Derry in the North West of Northern Ireland to Raphoe in County Donegal.