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The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge () railway company in
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 was formed in 1876 by a merger of the
Irish North Western Railway Irish North Western Railway (INW) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. Development The company was founded as the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway (D&ER) and opened the first section of its line, from to , in 1849. In Dundalk th ...
(INW),
Northern Railway of Ireland Northern Railway of Ireland was an Irish gauge railway company in Ireland. It was formed by a merger of the Dublin and Drogheda Railway (D&D) with the Dublin and the Belfast Junction Railway (D&BJct) in 1875. In 1876 it merged with the Irish ...
, and
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 ...
. 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 The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966. Formation and consolidation The UTA was formed by the Transport Act 1948, which merged the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board (NIRTB ...
and Córas Iompair Éireann.


Foundation

The Ulster, D&D and D&BJct railways together formed the main line between
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
and Belfast, with the D&BJct completing the final section in 1852 to join the Ulster at . The GNRI's other main lines were between
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
and and between
Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 m ...
and Portadown. The
Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh Junction Railway The Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh Junction Railway (PD&O) was an Irish gauge () railway in County Armagh and County Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland (now Northern Ireland). Early development Building of the PD&O line started from Portadown in 1855 ...
together with the
Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. Construction and opening The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway was incorporated in 1845. Construction began at Derry and followed the west bank of the ...
enabled GNRI trains between Derry and Belfast to compete with the
Belfast and Northern Counties Railway The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge () but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened to ...
, and both this and the Dundalk route gave connections between Derry and Dublin. These main lines supported the development of an extensive branch network serving the southwest half of
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
and northern counties of
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
. The GNRI became Ireland's most prosperous railway company and second largest railway network. In its early years the GNR(I) closely imitated the image of its English namesake, adopting an apple green livery for its steam locomotives and a varnished
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
finish for its passenger coaches. Later the company adopted its famous pale blue livery for locomotives (from 1932), with the frames and running gear picked out in scarlet. Passenger vehicles were painted brown, instead of varnished. On 12 June 1889, a significant rail accident occurred when a passenger train stalled between and . The train was divided, but during the uncoupling operation ten carriages ran away and collided with another passenger train. A total of 80 people were killed and 260 were injured in what was then the deadliest railway accident to have occurred in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The accident remains the deadliest ever to have occurred on the island of
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 ...
.


Growth and partition

In the early 20th century increasing traffic led the GNRI to consider introducing larger locomotives. The
Great Southern & Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the l ...
had introduced express passenger locomotives with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement, and the GNRI wanted to do the same. However, the lifting shop in the GNRI Dundalk works was too short to build or overhaul a 4-6-0, so the company persisted with 4-4-0 locomotives for even the heaviest and fastest passenger trains. This led to the GNRI to order a very modern and powerful class of 4-4-0's, the Class V three cylinder compound locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in 1932. This class has been compared with another notable V class, that introduced by the Southern Railway in England in 1930. The
Partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...
in 1921 created a border through the GNRI's territory. The new border crossed all three of its main lines and some of its secondary lines. The imposition of border controls caused some service disruption, with main line trains having to stop at both
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 ...
and Goraghwood stations. This was not eased until 1947 when customs and immigration facilities for Dublin–Belfast expresses were opened at Dublin Amiens Street and Belfast Great Victoria Street stations.


Nationalisation and division

A combination of the increasing road competition facing all railways and a change in patterns of economic activity caused by the
Partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...
reduced the GNRI's prosperity. The company modernised and reduced its costs by introducing modern diesel multiple units on an increasing number of services in the 1940s and 1950s and by making Dublin–Belfast expresses non-stop from 1948. In Dundalk at the GNR Works the railway engineers developed
railbuses 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 ...
for use on sections of the rural network. Nevertheless, by the 1950s the GNRI had ceased to be profitable and in 1953 the company was jointly nationalised by the governments of the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
and
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 ...
. The two governments ran the railway jointly under a Great Northern Railway Board until 1958. In May 1958, the
Government of Northern Ireland The government of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority over Northern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland. Following the partitio ...
's wish to close many lines led to the GNR(I) Board being dissolved and the assets divided between the two territories. At midnight on 30 September 1958, all lines entirely within Northern Ireland were transferred to the (nationalised)
Ulster Transport Authority The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966. Formation and consolidation The UTA was formed by the Transport Act 1948, which merged the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board (NIRTB ...
(UTA) and all lines entirely within the Republic of Ireland were transferred to Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). CIÉ had been formed as a private company in 1945 but had been nationalised in 1950. In an attempt at fairness, all classes of locomotive and rolling stock were also divided equally between the transport operators of the two new owners. Most classes of GNRI locomotive had been built in small classes, so this division left both railways with an operational and maintenance difficulty of many different designs all in small numbers. The Government of Northern Ireland, which had a very anti-rail policy, rapidly closed most of the GNR(I) lines in Northern Ireland.The closures started several years before the
Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised British Rail, railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Develop ...
, which implemented widespread rationalisations of the railway network in Britain.
Exceptions were the Belfast–Dundalk and Portadown–Derry main lines and the
Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...
Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ( ga, An Pointe) is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside ...
and – branches. It made the Lisburn–Antrim branch freight-only from 1960 and closed the Portadown–Derry and Newry–Warrenpoint lines to all traffic in 1965. The Republic of Ireland government tried briefly to maintain services on lines closed at the border by the Northern Ireland government, but this was impractical, and the Republic had to follow suit in closing most GNR(I) lines within the Republic. Since 1963, the –
Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...
branch has survived for freight traffic only. The GNR's north western main line between Dundalk and Derry bypassed the small
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 ...
town of
Fintona Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2011 Census was 1,164. Name and etymology Fintona is derived phonetically from the Irish name of the area, ''Fionntamhnach''; this is often trans ...
, which was instead served by a branch line from Fintona Junction station. The service was operated by the double-deck
Fintona horse tram Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2011 Census was 1,164. Name and etymology Fintona is derived phonetically from the Irish name of the area, ''Fionntamhnach''; this is often trans ...
until the line's closure in 1957. CIÉ also acquired the
Hill of Howth Tramway The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a tram which served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The termini were at Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and Howth railway station by the village and harbour of Howth. ...
, in the northern suburbs of Dublin, in the 1958 dissolution of the GNRI Board. CIÉ closed the tramway about a year later. Today, the GNR routes remaining consist of the main line from Dublin to Belfast, the Howth branch, electrified for Dublin commuter services since 1984, the Drogheda - Navan (Tara Mines) line, which carries only freight traffic associated with that mine, passenger traffic having ceased with the closure of the line beyond there to Oldcastle in 1963, and the Lisburn to Antrim branch, now mothballed but retained in operational order for the time being.


Preservation


Rolling stock

Four GNRI steam locomotives are preserved. The
Railway Preservation Society of Ireland The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is an Irish railway preservation group operating throughout Ireland, founded in 1964. Mainline steam train railtours are operated from Dublin and Belfast, but occasionally from other locatio ...
at Whitehead owns two of its 4-4-0s (one each of classes S and Q) and has custodianship of a third 4-4-0, ( V Class) which is on loan from the
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...
at
Cultra Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht ...
. The RPSI periodically operates one or more of them on special excursion trains on
Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent ...
and
Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...
(successor to CIÉ) routes. A 2-4-2T ( JT Class) locomotive is preserved at the
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...
at
Cultra Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht ...
. Some of its coaching stock has also been preserved. 1938 built dining car No.88 still sees use as part of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's Dublin-based "heritage set" of coaches. Also operating in this set is a 1954 built brake coach No.9, although it currently carries the number 1949. The
Downpatrick & County Down Railway The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a five-foot, three-inch (1,600 mm) gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using steam and diesel locomotives, dies ...
also has an example of a third-class GNR six-wheeled carriage, in an unrestored condition. *Steam locomotives: V Class No. 85 ( RPSI), JT Class No. 93 (UFTM), S Class No. 171 ( RPSI), Q Class No. 131 (RPSI) *Tenders: No. 31 (RPSI), No. 43 (RPSI) *Carriages: Directors Saloon No. 50 (RPSI), Dining Car No. 88 (RPSI), Open Third No. 114 (RPSI), Open Third No. 1949 (RPSI), Unidentified 6-Wheeler ( DCDR) *Wagons: Brake Van No. 81 (RPSI), Grain Vans No.'s 504 & 2518 (RPSI), Parcel Van No. 788 (RPSI), Crane No. 3169 (RPSI), Ballast Wagon No. 8112N (RPSI), Unidentified Open Wagon (RPSI), Unnumbered Boiler Wagon (RPSI) *Rail-bus: E (UFTM) *Trams: Howth No. 2 (UFTM), Howth No. 4 ( OERM), Howth No. 9 ( NTMI), Howth No. 10 ( NTM), Fintona No. 381 + trailer (UFTM) *Road vehicles: Lorry No. 150 (NTMI), Bus No. 274 (NTMI), Bus No. 345 (C&L - converted to rail coach), Bus No. 389 (C&L), Bus No. 390 (NTMI), Bus No. 427 (NTMI), Bus No. 438 (NTMI)


Buildings

There are a number of historic buildings built by the GNRI such as and . In 2011, a former GNR
Signal Cabin On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetabl ...
from Bundoran Junction arrived at the
Downpatrick and County Down Railway The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a five-foot, three-inch (1,600 mm) gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using steam and diesel locomotives, diesel ra ...
. The cabin was installed on the platform at
Downpatrick railway station Downpatrick railway station was on the Belfast and County Down Railway, which ran its longest route from Belfast to Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. Today it is the headquarters of the Downpatrick and County Down Railway. History Downpatric ...
in October 2015, where it is to be restored to working order.


See also

* Charles Clifford, Locomotive Superintendent from 1895 to 1912. *
William Hemingway Mills William Hemingway Mills (1834-1918) was a British civil engineer known for his work with the Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNR(I)) from its formation in 1876 until his retirement in 1910. Life Mills was born in Yorkshire, England in 1834. ...
, Chief Engineer from 1876.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Great Northern Railway Architecture at Archiseek.com
* {{coord missing, Ireland Closed railways in Northern Ireland Closed railways in Ireland Railway companies established in 1876 Railway companies disestablished in 1958 Irish gauge railways 1876 establishments in Ireland 1958 disestablishments in Ireland