The Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway operating in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It opened in 1883 and closed in 1933.

Route

This long line was situated entirely within

, linking the market town of

Castlederg Castlederg (earlier Caslanadergy, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Derg and is near the border with County Donegal, Ireland. It stands in the townlands of Castlesessagh and Churchtown, in the historic barony ...

through

Spamount Spamount is a townland (of 88 acres) and small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, near Castlederg. It is situated in the historic Barony (geographic), barony of Strabane Lower and the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Ardstraw. ...

Crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...

and Fyfin to

Victoria Bridge Victoria Bridge may be a reference to: Bridges ;Australia * Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, a road bridge across the Brisbane River in Brisbane * Victoria Bridge, Devonport a road ridge across the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania * Victoria Bridge, M ...

(a junction with the main line of the Great Northern Railway). The line followed the course of the road for almost its entire length, and there were passing loops at Spamount and Crew.

Early years

The Great Northern Railway reached Victoria Bridge in 1852. Plans for a narrow gauge rail link to

were agreed at a public meeting held in the town in August 1881. The line was constructed shortly prior to the enactment of the Tramways Act 1883, and opened in April 1883, so the promoters lost out on any financial assistance from the government. Because of a sharp gradient on the approach to Victoria Bridge, all trains had to be equipped with a Westinghouse continuous braking system – the first trains in Ireland to be so equipped. The line's first two steam locomotives were fitted with enclosed bodywork as tram engines.

Final years

A 24-seat railcar was built with a

Fordson Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to ...

paraffin Paraffin may refer to: Substances * Paraffin wax, a white or colorless soft solid that is used as a lubricant and for other applications * Liquid paraffin (drug), a very highly refined mineral oil used in cosmetics and for medical purposes * Alkane ...

engine in 1925 at Castlederg. Although basic in design, it was capable of being driven from either end and the driver also sold the tickets. From 1925 the Tramway became loss making, reaching virtual insolvency by 1932. A strike disrupted Northern Ireland's rail network between 31 January and 7 April 1933. This was taken as an opportunity to discontinue services. The last steam engine departed from Castlederg on 27 July 1934 hauling redundant rolling stock to Victoria Bridge for auction. The need for transhipment of all freight at the

break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

between the Tramway and the gauge Great Northern Railway at Victoria Bridge was time-consuming, inefficient and expensive. By the 1930s the railway's Victorian-era infrastructure was also in need of substantial investment. The line became one of Northern Ireland's earliest casualties of road competition. At the end in 1933, there was a

Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. History The company was founded as Hudswell and Clarke in 1860. In 1870 the name was changed to Hu ...

2-6-0T locomotive (sold to

Clogher Valley Railway The Clogher Valley Railway was a , narrow gauge railway in County Tyrone and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It opened in May 1887 and closed on 1 January 1942 (with the last trains running the previous day). Route The railway was mainly si ...

), a Hudswell Clarke 0-4-4T locomotive and a

Beyer, Peacock & Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...

Isle of Man type 2-4-0T locomotive which had come from the

Ballymena and Larne Railway The Ballymena and Larne Railway was a narrow gauge railway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The first part opened in July 1877 and regular passenger services began in August 1878, the first on the Irish gauge railways. Passenger services ende ...

Route

Early years

Final years

See also

References

Further reading