Note: station and halt photos are not aligned to the direction of the flyover.
The track between Strabane and Donegal town was modified several times in its history. In the video the railway line was retraced using several maps from different time periods, including the Griffiths Valuation Maps dated c1850-1870 (Strabane to Stranorlar sections), the OS 1905 maps of each station, and a much lower resolution 1906 Viceregal Commission Map (Stranorlar to Donegal). The maps were rescaled to fit Google Earth. Taking all this into consideration, the red line and station markers shown in the video should therefore be considered an approximation of the actual rail track.
- 1863 Sept 7: Finn Valley Railways open the Strabane to Stranorlar standard gauge line.
- 1882 Apr 25: A narrow gauge line from Stranorlar to Lough Eske opens. The line, built by West Donegal Railway (by Lord Lifford), is operated by Finn Valley Railways. A lack of funding sees the route stop 4 miles short of Donegal town. A horse drawn road-coach service from Lough Eske provides connection to the town.
- 1889 16 Sept: The line from Lough Eske (Druminin) to Donegal town opens.
- 1892: Finn Valley Railway and West Donegal Railways amalgamate.
- 1894: 13-16 July: The Finn Valley/Donegal Railway line converts to 3'0" narrow gauge.
- 1909: Strabane Letterkenny Station opens.
- 1960: Strabane (CDJ) closes.
- 1965: Strabane (GNI) closes.
If you wish to inspect or alter the track data within Google Earth, a GIS application or SatNav device, a file in KMZ format is now available for download.Newspaper Article:
New Zealand Tablet: 26 Oct 1894 Page 21 (see Donegal section)
Related links:
- Irish Railway Record Society
- Trainweb CDR: Strabane - Donegal
- A large collection of related colour photographs from the 1950s are available from Ron White's ColourRail catalogues.
- Photo: Barnesmore Gap 1899 - William Lawrence
Related Photos
No comments:
Post a Comment