Dundalk Clarke railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Dhún Dealgan Uí Cleirigh) serves

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

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 ...

. It consists of an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

, with a bay facing south. It is served by the Dublin-Belfast "Enterprise" express trains as well as local Commuter services to and from Dublin. There is a small museum located in one of the station buildings, displaying various railway artefacts and photographs.

History

The original station opened on 15 February 1849 as ''Dundalk Junction'' (being located at the Junction of the Dublin-Belfast line and the Dundalk and

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

line), the current ''Dundalk Station'', 350m to the north, opened in June 1894. It was given the name Clarke on Sunday 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Tom Clarke, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

Architecture

The ticket office and modern waiting area are located at road level, whereas the station proper is beneath this at track level. The two sections are connected by a Victorian covered walkway, and by a 21st-century lift for disabled access. The station is noted for its fine iron, glass, and polychromic

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by s ...

. It has been said to be the finest station on the Dublin-Belfast line.

GNR Railway Works

The town had the important Railway Works on the Great Northern Railway of Ireland system. Amongst the products developed was the

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed ...

References

Gallery

Image:front_rail_dundalk.jpg, Station exterior. Image:Dundalk_platform.jpg, The'' up'' platform. Image:Dundalk_station2.jpg, Entrance. Image:Dundalk_station3.jpg, Station car park. Image:Dundalk sign.jpg, Station nameboard.

External links