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 ...

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.

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). Disused Railway Bridge - geograph

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

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

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