| Industry | railway |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1836 |
| Defunct | 1876 |
| Fate | merged |
| Successor | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | County Antrim, County Armagh, County Down, County Monaghan |
Ulster Railway |
|---|
The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).
| Ulster Railway Act 1836 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for making a Railway from the Town of Belfast to the City of Armagh in the Province of Ulster in Ireland. |
| Citation | 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xxxiii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 19 May 1836 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Ulster Railway was authorised by the Ulster Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xxxiii), an act of the UK Parliament, [1] and construction began in March 1837. [2]
The first 7 miles 60 chains (12.5 km) of line, between Belfast Great Victoria Street and Lisburn, were completed in August 1839 at a cost of £107,602 11s. 5d. [3] [2] The line was extended in stages, opening to Lurgan in 1841, [4] Portadown in 1842, [5] and Armagh in 1848. [5]
In 1836 a Railway Commission recommended that railways in Ireland be built to 6 ft 2 in (1,880 mm) broad gauge. [2] The Ulster Railway complied with this recommendation but the Dublin and Drogheda Railway (D&D) did not. In order for Dublin and Belfast to be linked without a break-of-gauge, in 1846 the UK Parliament passed an Act adopting a compromise gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) for Ireland, to which the Ulster Railway's track was then re-laid. [2]
Extension of the Ulster Railway resumed, reaching Monaghan in 1858, [5] Smithborough in 1862 [5] and Clones on the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway, later the Irish North Western Railway (INW), in 1863. [6]
The Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway (D&BJct) between Drogheda and Portadown was completed in 1853. [7] This connected the D&D with the Ulster Railway, thus completing the main line between Dublin and Belfast. [7]
The Ulster Railway operated three lines that remained in the ownership of separate companies: the Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh Junction Railway (PD&O), the Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Railway (BLBR) and the Dublin and Antrim Junction Railway (D&AJR). [8] The PD&O reached Dungannon in 1858 [5] and Omagh in 1861, [9] and the contractor, William Dargan, sold the Ulster a 999-year lease on it in 1860. [10] [8] The BLBR opened between Knockmore Junction and Banbridge in 1863, [4] and the D&AJR opened between Knockmore Junction and Antrim in 1871. [4] [11]
In 1876 the Ulster Railway merged with the INW and the Northern Railway of Ireland (formed by a merger of the D&D and the D&BJct the previous year) to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).
One example of Ulster Railway rolling stock has survived. The body of No. 33, built as a family saloon in 1862 and withdrawn in the 1920s having passed into GNR hands, is preserved at the Downpatrick and County Down Railway. It has been moved to the carriage workshop where restoration is now underway. The body has been stripped down framing repaired and reassembly is underway. Many original features remain with many of the original panels being refurbished and re-installed. Some of the unique features of the original body highlight that this coach was mid way between the stagecoach bodies of the 1850s and the classical Victorian coach body of the 1870s onwards. These features include rounded tops and bottoms of the windows, door handles placed below the normal waist line in stagecoach manner for access from lower platforms and internal water piping within the frames in a mixture of hessian hose and lead fittings.
The coach is a family saloon with two large compartments and a small toilet compartment accessible to each compartment. Both toilet compartments are in the centre of the coach. The internal piping rises to roof level where a water tank will have been fitted. The internal branch indicates that a small wash basin must have been fitted. It was lit by four pot lamps with two in each of the main saloons. The original roof holes and interior bezels remain. The lower level of roof canvas remains with the original lamp holes remaining. The underframe has not been preserved. It was fitted with electric lighting in late 1890s and it may have had a new GNR under frame fitted at this time. It likely had an unbraked, six wheel wooden framework. The short body length of 23 feet would have meant a relatively short wheelbase. A similar sized 6-wheeled Ulster Railway coach was part of the train involved in the Armagh accident (1889), but by this time the Smiths simple vacuum brake had been fitted and the under frame may have been renewed, so exact details are unknown. A 4-wheeled, vacuum-braked underframe replica will be built using vintage components, but replacing wood with modern steel channel assembled such it will look like wood when painted. [12]
The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.
The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but the line between Belfast and Bangor was closed in the 1950s, although some of it has been restored near Downpatrick by a heritage line, the Downpatrick and County Down Railway.
Dromore is a small market town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies within the local government district of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon. It is 19 miles (31 km) southwest of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast–Dublin road. The 2011 census recorded a population of 6,395.
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 Belfast–Newry line operates from Lisburn station in County Antrim to Newry in County Down, Northern Ireland. The manager for this line is based at Portadown railway station, although the line extends to the border to include the Scarva and Poyntzpass halts and Newry. Newry is on the fringe of the network, being the last stop before the border with the Republic of Ireland. The line follows the route of the northern half of the main Dublin–Belfast line.
Knockmore railway station was a station on the Belfast–Newry railway line. The station served the suburb of Knockmore in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Great Northern Railway (GNR) opened Knockmore station as a halt in 1932. Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) closed the station on 25 March 2005.
The Lisburn–Antrim line is a 20-mile (32 km) railway line of Northern Ireland Railways. It links Knockmore Junction on the Belfast–Newry line with Antrim on the Belfast–Derry line. It has been closed to passenger services since 2003.
Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper Half. The town began as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing. The town was home to the headquarters of the former Banbridge District Council. Following a reform of local government in Northern Ireland in 2015, Banbridge became part of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. It had a population of 17,400 in the 2021 census.
Irish North Western Railway (INW) was an Irish gauge railway company in Ireland.
Northern Railway of Ireland was an Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in railway company in Ireland.
Ulster railways, present and past, include:
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.
Trew and Moy railway station was a railway station in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The station was near Trew Mount, over 2 miles north of Moy.
Vernersbridge railway station was a railway station in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The station was about 0.7 miles south of Clonmore and about 0.25 miles east of a substantial viaduct by which the railway crossed the River Blackwater.
Dungannon railway station served Dungannon in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.
Banbridge railway station was on the Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Railway which ran from Knockmore Junction to Banbridge in Northern Ireland.
The Newry and Armagh Railway was opened in 1864 and ran until 1879.
The Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Junction Railway was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland linking Belfast with Banbridge, County Down. It was built in the 19th century. The line between Knockmore and Banbridge was closed in 1956.
