The Newry and Armagh Railway was opened in 1864 and ran until 1879.
Stations and Line Description
Armagh
The Newry and Armagh Railway (N&A) opened in 1864, and had its own temporary terminus just outside
Armagh until it started using 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 ...
of
Armagh railway station
Armagh railway station was a railway station that served Armagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Development
The Ulster Railway opened Armagh station in 1848, linking the city with Belfast. The Ulster Railway was extended from Armagh to Mon ...
in 1865.
In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the new
Great Northern Railway (GNR), which took over the N&A in 1879. 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 ...
made the GNR Board close the remaining lines serving Armagh on 1 October 1957. Government Minister for the
Department for Regional Development
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI, ga, An Roinn Bonneagair; Ulster-Scots: ''Depairment fur Infrastructure'') is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Up until May 2016, the department wa ...
,
Danny Kennedy MLA indicates railway restoration plans.
Hamiltonsbawn
Hamiltonsbawn
Hamiltonsbawn or Hamilton's Bawn is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, five miles (8 km) east of Armagh. It lies within the Parish of Mullabrack and the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area. It had a population o ...
railway station opened on 25 August 1864 and finally closed on 1 February 1933.
Hamiltonsbawn
Hamiltonsbawn or Hamilton's Bawn is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, five miles (8 km) east of Armagh. It lies within the Parish of Mullabrack and the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area. It had a population o ...
was the scene of the
Armagh railway disaster which happened on 12 June 1889 near
Armagh,
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 Kin ...
,
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 ...
, when a crowded
Sunday school excursion train
An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent customer ...
had to negotiate a steep incline; the
steam locomotive was unable to complete the climb and the train stalled. Much later at the time of closure the line was run by the
Great Northern Railway (Ireland).
Markethill
Markethill
Markethill () is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is beside Gosford Forest Park. It had a population of 1,647 people in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Governme ...
railway station opened on 25 August 1864, closed for passenger traffic on 1 February 1933 and finally closed altogether on 2 May 1955. Located on the
Armagh to
Goraghwood section of line run by the
Great Northern Railway of Ireland.
Lissummon Railway Tunnel m 1759 yd long constructed with stone with some brick in the early 1860s.
Gorraghwood
Goraghwood railway station was opened on 6 March 1854 on the
Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway
Dublin and the Belfast Junction Railway (D&BJct, Irish: Iarnród Bhaile Átha Cliath agus Acomhal Bhéal Feirste) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1845 and opened its line in stages between 1849 and 185 ...
where a junction existed on the present day
Belfast-Newry railway line. In 1875, the D&BJct merged with the D&B, forming the
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 ...
.
In 1876 it merged with 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) 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 ...
to form the
Great Northern Railway (Ireland).
The station at
Goraghwood railway station connected with the
Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway
The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway (DNGR, DN&GR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It was conceived in the 1860s to provide a link between the towns in its title and the London and North Western Railway port at Greenore, from ...
via
Newry Edward Street railway station in
Newry
Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011.
Newry ...
.
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 Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
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 then being absorbed into 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 (NIRT ...
. Goraghwood was closed by 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 (NIRT ...
in 1965 closing to passengers on 15 February 1965 and previously to freight on 4 January 1965.
Presently trains run
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 paren ...
pass the closed station as well as the
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
.
References
{{reflist
Railway companies established in 1864
Railway companies disestablished in 1879
Irish gauge railways
Great Northern Railway (Ireland)
Closed railways in Northern Ireland
Closed railways in Ireland
Defunct railway companies of Ireland
Transport in County Armagh