The Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Junction Railway was an
Irish gauge () railway in Ireland linking
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
with
Banbridge
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 Iv ...
,
County Down. It was built in the 19th century. The line between Knockmore and Banbridge was closed in 1956.
History
The Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Junction Railway (BLB) through Dromore opened in 1863. Its line was a branch that joined the
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).
History
The Ulster Railway was auth ...
main line
Knockmore Junction, giving Dromore a direct link to and . In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the new
Great Northern Railway, which took over the BLB company in 1877. In 1953 the railway was nationalised as the
GNR Board, which closed the line through Dromore on 29 April 1956.
The main engineering feature on the line was
Dromore Viaduct.
Gallery
File:Dromore Bypass June 2011.jpg, Dromore Bypass June 2011. The disused viaduct of the BLB can be seen on the left
File:Dromore Station (2).jpeg, The remnants of the platform at Dromore Station on the Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Junction Railway
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Junction Railway
Closed railways in Ireland
Railway lines opened in 1863
Closed railways in Northern Ireland
Transport in Belfast
Transport in County Down
Defunct railway companies of Ireland
Irish gauge railways
Railway lines closed in 1956
1863 establishments in Ireland
1956 disestablishments in Northern Ireland
Defunct transport companies of Northern Ireland