Ballymote railway station serves the town of

Ballymote Ballymote () is a market town in southern County Sligo, approx. 24 km south east of Sligo town in the province of Connacht, which is located in the north-west of Ireland. Ballymote lies in the barony of Corran. A commuter town with a stro ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

The station opened on 3 December 1862 with the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of , making it Irela ...

extension from

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

. The current station building is listed and was believed to have been built around 1875. A wall-mounted cast iron water fountain with the inscription "keep the pavement dry" was installed on the east platform around 1910. It is of skilled craftsmanship and the inscription is unusual. The

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

was removed at some point between 1985 and 1993 with the track only serving the up platform. There was also a goods depot, shed and goods yard that have since been demolished.

Accidents

On 2 August 1903, a double-headed passenger train for Sligo collided with the mail train for Dublin. Three passengers were injured. The investigation concluded the passenger train, whose main driver had been on shift for 20 hours, had gone through a stop signal resulting in a ''Collision - road incorrectly set''. The lead engine also did not have its braking system correctly connected to the main engine.

Awards

Ballymote was the winner of the National Best Station award in 2004.

Notable people

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Industry ...

was an Irish

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

who formerly worked in the CIE accountancy office at Ballymote dealing with the various accounts in the town sending or receiving goods by train.

Gallery

Image:Train entering Ballymote station (geograph 2435950).jpg, Train pulled by 121 Class locomotives entering Ballymote from

in 1985 showing the now demolished signal box and goods depot Image:Ballymote railway station - geograph.org.uk - 1570623.jpg, Looking south in 2009. The bridge is the R296 road to

Tubbercurry Tubbercurry or Tobercurry () is the second-largest town in terms of both population and land area in County Sligo, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the Ox Mountains, on the N17 national primary road. The village is twinned with Viarmes in Fra ...

. The steps to the now disused down platform were the only means of access. Image:Ballymote railway station.jpg, The listed station house building which dates from 1875

Notes and References

Notes

References

External links

Irish Rail Ballymote station website
Iarnród Éireann stations in County Sligo Railway stations in County Sligo Railway stations opened in 1862 1862 establishments in Ireland {{Ireland-railstation-stub