The Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramway operated
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 ...
, horse-drawn tramway services between
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 t ...
and
Rostrevor
Rostrevor () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nearby. ...
,
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim 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 ...
from 1877 to 1915.
History
The Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramway offered passengers a connection from its canopied terminus platform at Warrenpoint railway station through to Rostrevor. The company was established in 1875 and services started in 1877. It was promoted by
Francis Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey
Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey (2 August 1842 – 28 July 1915), styled Viscount Newry from 1851 to 1880, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Conservative Member of Parliament.
Background and education
Kilmorey was the eldest son of Fr ...
. It was the first tramway service in Ireland. The Earl sold the tramway in 1884 for £4,000 (equivalent to £ in ). In 1910, the manager was Bernard Reilly.
Fares
In 1890 the fares were
*1st Class single 6
d (equivalent to £ in )
*1st Class return 9d (equivalent to £ in )
*3rd Class single 4d (equivalent to £ in )
*3rd Class return 6d (equivalent to £ in )
Extension plan
In 1908 plans were made to purchase the tramway, electrify it and extend it as far as
Newcastle, County Down
Newcastle () is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 7,672 at the 2011 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains. Newcastle is known fo ...
,
[The Electrical engineer 1908] however, these plans came to nothing.
Closure
Early in 1915 a storm washed away part of the line and following this, the service never resumed.
See also
*
Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway
The Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway (NW&RR) was a former railway line linking Newry and the port of Warrenpoint on the Carlingford Lough inlet in Ireland, and the company operating it. The railway was absorbed into the Great Northern ...
References
{{Historic UK Trams
Tram transport in Ireland before partition
3 ft gauge railways in Ireland
Warrenpoint