Strabane Satellite Imagery 1995

Strabane c1995 before Phase 2 of the Great Northern Link. 


If you wish to inspect or alter the imagery, a file in KMZ format is now available for download

To use: open the file inside Google Earth.

Flyover: c1864 Londonderry Enniskillen Railway

The route of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway c1864, overlaid on modern satellite imagery from Google Earth.

The route and POIs in the video were reconstructed from the maps of the Griffith's Valuation. Whilst the terminus at Enniskillen was reached in 1854, the Griffith's Valuation maps, used for the video, date to circa 1864. Maps for Londonderry were not available, therefore the video picks up the route just outside Derry City. To view the complete route see the download section below.

• 1844: Sir John McNeil presents his plan of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway to parliament. 
• 1845 July: Parliament passes McNeil's plan but McNeil declines to build the line.
• 1845 Aug 18: Robert Stephenson takes on the project but rubbishes McNeil's plans.
• 1847: The L&ER line from Derry reaches Strabane.
• 1848: Stephenson withdraws from the project.
• 1854 Aug 19: The railway line reaches the terminus at Enniskillen.
• 1863 Sept 7: Finn Valley Railways open the Strabane to Stranorlar line.
• 1957 Oct 1: Enniskillen railway station closes

Sections of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway

If you wish to inspect or alter the path data used in the flyover, a file in KMZ format is now available for download

To use: open the file inside Google Earth.

1844 Plan: Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway

The following documents entitled "Plans and Sections of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway with a branch to Lough Swilly 1844" were made available to the OSB through the kind generosity of Mr CurlyHill. The entire photocopied plan spreads out over 21 pages.

Sheet 1: Plans and Sections of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway with a branch to Lough Swilly 1844

This particular plan for the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) was prepared for Parliament by the engineer Sir John McNeil in 1844, at the request of the Irish Railway Commission. However, these pages do not depict the final route taken by the railway. The final design was influenced in part by the eminent engineer Robert Stephenson and Alexander Ross; after McNeil declined to build the line when the act passed in July 1845.

Report, Robert Stephenson and Alexander M Ross, London 18 August 1845, with report of the first General Meeting of the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway, The Railway Times, VIII, 30 August 1845, p. 1390. We have inspected the entire line, and have to report to you that much alteration is required to save expense, and to expedite the execution of the works very materially. We are informed that surveys were made in haste, and that Sir J. MacNeil, in the midst of his then pressing engagements, did not himself have time personally to go over the line.

The line to Strabane should have been completed by September 1846 (L&ER General Meeting, Railway Times IX 29 Aug 1846), but allegations from shareholders of Ross's personal and financial involvement with the contractor James Leishman (1800-1884) slowed the project down. The railway station at Strabane opened months later in 1847. Perhaps wearied by the growing dissatisfaction and paranoia of parsimonious shareholder during the famine years, Stephenson and Ross withdrew from the project by January 1848. (The Railway Record V, 15 January 1848 pp56-57). It would take 6 more years to reach the terminus at Enniskillen.

To highlight the difference between McNeil's plan and the completed 1854 L&ER route: on sheet 4 MacNeil runs the rail track at Strabane east of the Bowling Green, through the plot where the Church Of the Immaculate Conception is now situated, up Townsend Street and parallel to the Liskey Road.

Despite Stephenson's criticisms, McNeil's maps are still a useful source of information that show us, albeit roughly at times, what 70 miles of countryside looked like during that period.

The following downloadable KMZ Basemaps and KMZ Enlargement files were designed to be viewed upon the satellite imagery of Google Earth. Since the files were converted to the WGS 84 datum, all measurements should be treated as imprecise due to datum displacement. The opacity and location of the maps can be adjusted within Google Earth. Zoomit links are provided to show the maps in their original unadjusted state.

*NOTE: Google have altered the way their cloud storage system "GoogleDocs" handles KMZ files. Instead of displaying a direct download link, GoogleDocs now opens the KMZ file directly onto Google Maps. Whilst this is a good idea in principle, Google have only partially implemented KMZ support on Google Maps as of yet. As a result, many KMZ files are aligned incorrectly when viewed on Google Maps this way. However, the same KMZ files will appear correctly aligned when opened in GoogleEarth. On the following links please make sure you select Download from the File menu, and then open the files in Google Earth. Just ignore the GoogleMaps preview.

Main Route

View and Download Links

View Online	Download BaseMap	Download EnlargEments
Zoomit Views	KMZ for Google Earth	KMZ for Google Earth
Sheet 1 ∙	City and County Londonderry	6 Sections
Sheet 2	Saint Johnstown - Templemore	3 Sections
Sheet 3	Porthall - Tullyowen	7 Sections
Sheet 4 ∙	Strabane town	4 Sections
Sheet 5	Breen - Milltown	7 Sections
Sheet 6 ∙	Newtown Stewart - Mulvin	3 Sections
Sheet 7	Beltan - Pubble	11 Sections
Sheet 8	Lislimnaghan - Castletown	17 Sections
Sheet 9 ∙	Omagh	12 Sections
Sheet 10	Mullawinny - Mullaghmore	9 Sections
Sheet 11	Drumskinny - Shanaragh	8 Sections
Sheet 12	Strangagummer - Esker	9 Sections
Sheet 13	Drummurry- Lisnahanna	11 Sections
Sheet 14	Aughaward - Salry	9 Sections
Sheet 15 ∙	Enniskillen	9 Sections

Lifford Deviation

View and Download Links

View Online	Download BaseMap	Download EnlargEments
Zoomit Views	KMZ for Google Earth	KMZ for Google Earth
Part 1	Lifford Common - Porthall	6 Sections
Part 2	Liggartown - Coneyburrow	8 Sections
Part 3	Trafalgar	1 Section

Derry City and Branch to Lough Swilly

View and Download Links

View Online	Download BaseMap	Download EnlargEments
Zoomit Views	KMZ for Google Earth	KMZ for Google Earth
Sheet 1a	City of Londonderry Enlarged Plan	-
Swilly Branch	Port Lough - Whitehouse	9 Sections

Life expectancy \ income - Ireland \ UK. 1800-2009 (GapMinder data)

SkyDrive Folder (alternative links)
  

Map: Strabane Tenements 1854

Map: Strabane Town Parks and Tenements 1854 (photocopy by Mr Curly Hill)

Here is the download link to the Tenements section of the 1854 Map of Strabane. Since the Town Parks sections were drawn to a different scale they should be ignored in Google Earth.


Please note:
The panels of the map, from which this KMZ file was created, were very kindly loaned to the OldStrabaneBlog by Mr Curly Hill. That document was a hand-coloured photocopy of an original map. Futhermore, the paper on which that copy was printed, was wrinkled, and water-damaged.

Perch Distances:

• Irish Perch 7 yards
• Cunningham Perch 6.24 yards
• Woodland Perch 6 yards
• Statute Perch 5.5 yards

History Pin: Mobile Phone Camera App

If you wish to create a modern-day equivalent of any postcard featured on the Old Strabane Blog, then you might be interested to hear that HistoryPin is now available as a free downloadable app on both the Android Market and iPhone App Store.

One feature of this App places a translucent overlay of a selected image onto the viewfinder of your mobile phone's camera. By reducing the opacity of the overlay you can easily align your mobile phone's camera to snap an accurate modern-day replica of the old image.

* Almost all of the images featured on the Old Strabane Blog are now accessible within the HistoryPin App and on the HistoryPin Website..

Flyover: Strabane Canal (HD 720p)

Based on the Griffith's Valuation Maps c1850

If you wish to inspect or alter the path data used in the flyover, a file in KMZ format is now available for download

To use: open the file inside Google Earth.

Flyover: Strabane Donegal Railway (HD)

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.

Slideshow: Strabane Donegal Railway | View all

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

Update: WhatWasThere and iPhone support.

Long time, no update... I hope it was worth the wait.

Here's what's new:

• Most of the photos featured on the blog were uploaded to a new website called WhatWasThere.com. WhatWasThere shares the same goal as SepiaTown, but does things slightly differently.
• A free App for the iPhone and iPod touch is available for download on iTunes. Android users can use my 'Photo History Map' to get a similar experience. 
• The Newspaper Timeline link was re-tuned to reduce the number of hits on the other Strabane over in Washington.

Strabane gets a Google Earth update

The years of wating have ended. Finally, Strabane is added to GoogleEarth's official high resolution satellite imagery.

Strabane Satellite Imagery High-Res c2007

Here is the download link to the circa 2007 satellite imagery of Strabane in KMZ (Google Earth) format.
To use: Open the file inside Google Earth..




This file covers a smaller area, but is of a higher resolution than the previous satellite imagery file.

Strabane Satellite Imagery Med-Res c2007

Here is the download link to the circa 2007 satellite imagery of Strabane in KMZ (Google Earth) format.
To use: Open the file inside Google Earth..





If you wish to use other KMZ maps of Strabane (see Downloads section) with the new satellite imagery in Google Earth, then load the satellite imagery first and the map imagery second. To see through the maps adjust GoogleEarth's opacity slider.


Example: 1905 Ordnance Survey overlaid on the new satellite imagery in GoogleEarth

For multiple overlays I would recommend using a computer with at least 3 gigabytes of RAM.

Christmas Fire at the First Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church. Looking East from the bridge. | fullsize

Spires: left to right:
o Church of the Immaculate Conception
o Presbyterian Church Bell Tower

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View Modes

SEPIATOWN	WHATWASTHERE	BIRD'S EYE
View	View	View

• 1872: Presbyterian Church opens.
  
• 1938: Accidental fire destroys the church on Christmas day.
• 1939-57: The congregation worship at Leepers Brae Presbyterian Meetinghouse.
  
• 1957: New church opens on the Derry Road.
  The bell from the First Presbyterian is installed in the new church.

Aftermath of the 1938 Christmas fire. Looking East from Strabane Bridge 1943.

Related Videos:
US soldiers visit Strabane 1943.
Fire damaged church shown briefly at the start of the video.

Related Images:

Town Hall circa 1950

Looking Northwest from Upper Main Street | fullscreen

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View Modes

SEPIATOWN	WHATWASTHERE	BIRD'S EYE
View	View	View

• 1752: Market House opens
• 1904: Expensive controversial renovations are complete.
• 1972: Feb - Fire damages hall. [Boca Raton News - Feb 24, 1972]
  
• 1972: Oct - 50 lb bomb destroys hall. [The Hour - Oct 10, 1972 - page 2]
  Although no one was injured in the destruction, many of town's historical records were lost forever.
  

As the 1904 controversy faded from memory, the building was eventually looked upon with affection by most Strabane residents. The loss of the hall in 1972 was mourned by people from all sections of the community.

On a positive note:- The hall was the hub to a network of narrow streets. The destruction in 1972 enabled the town centre to open up. By 1985 an area consisting of Townhall Street, Market Street, and Butcher Street was demolished. A new shopping centre and car park was built on the site.


1905 ordnance map superimposed on 2010 Google Maps.
(Google Map POI icons are inaccurate.)


Newspaper Article:

NY Times, August 11 1912

Town hall clock used for target practice.

Related Images:
 

Convent of Mercy and Mount Kennedy

Looking Northwest from Springhill Park | fullscreen

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View Modes

SEPIATOWN	WHATWASTHERE	BIRD'S EYE
View	View	View

Spires left to right:
o First Presbyterian 1872 - just on left edge of the postcard
o Church of the Immaculate Conception 1895
o Christ Church 1879 - in the far distance behind Mount Kennedy.
o Convent Chapel 1881
o Convent 1868

The small building near the middle of the photograph was called Mount Kennedy. It was the home of Mr James Kennedy; shirt manufacturer and a founder of the Convent of Mercy 1868. After Mr Kennedy's death 1901 the Sisters Of Mercy purchased the building and renamed it St. Anne's. In 1928 St Anne's became the nucleus of the original Convent Grammar School, until a new building was opened in the Curley Hill in 1968.

Convent of Mercy founders:

• John Carlin, James Kennedy, Francis O Neill
• Mother Catherine Atkinson (Sisters of Mercy, Navan)

Convent Timeline 1868-2009

Map 1905 Ordnance Survey: Convent and Church of the Immaculate Conception


Related Images:

Bowling Green from Town Hall c1900

Looking NE from Town Hall (aka Market House) | fullsize

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View Modes

SEPIATOWN	WHATWASTHERE	BIRD'S EYE
View	View	View

• Christ Church was consecrated in 1879.

This image might show the view from the town hall before the 1904 upgrade.

Quote from Christ Church website

Not sure of date, must be earlier than 1905 - water pump not visible (but may be hidden by houses) and lack of buildings on the Curley Hill!

Bowling Green: Ordnance Survey 1905


Bowling Green: Griffiths Valuation c1850.

Railway Road c1900

Looking Southeast along Railway Street | fullsize

View on WhatWasThere

Spires left to right:
o Possibly the old church near Patrick Street/Church Street graveyard.
o Christ Church in the Bowling Green.

• 1847: Railway station established in the town.
• 1891: Telephonic communication between Strabane and Derry is established (reference Derry Almanac 1892)
• The location of Mc Swiggan's public house can be seen on the right of the postcard (left of the wall).
  
• McSwiggan is listed at 29 Railway Street in the 1911 census.
• 1913: Cooper family open a cinema on the Railway Road
  (Date supplied by Mr Curlyhill)

Map: Ordnance Survey 1905

Related Images:
 

Blog Photos for Google Earth

For use on SatNav, Google Earth and CAD applications. Here geo-locations are mapped with greater precision than with Sepiatown, but may still require slight adjustments to align with the device and to the software being used.

• BlogPhoto.kml - All the locations featured on this blog.
  Download
  

Installation on Google Earth:
Open the BlogPhoto.kml file in Google Earth. The Blog images will appear in a folder called [metadata] inside the [Temporary Places] folder. You will need to download and install this file everytime a new location is added to the Blog.

1905 Ordnance Survey for Google Earth

Here is the download link to the 1905 ordnance survey map of Strabane in KMZ (Google Earth) format. To use: open the file inside Google Earth..





A word of caution: The ordnance survey map was resized to fit Google Earth as closely as possible. This map should not be expected to give measurements to any dependable degree of accuracy.

Note: The Blog photographs are available as a KML file in our Download section if you wish to use them with this map on Google Earth.

Strabane Map c1850 for Google Earth

The Griffiths Valuation is perhaps the most important surviving genealogical data source on 19th century Ireland. Published between 1847 and 1864 and comprised of more than 300 volumes, it was the first full-scale valuation of all rateable property in Ireland.

Here is the download link to a section of the Griffiths Valuation map for Strabane circa 1850.

To use: open the file inside Google Earth.


A word of caution: This map was resized to fit Google Earth as closely as possible and should not be expected to give measurements to any dependable degree of accuracy.

• 1846: School for deaf and dumb children opens.
• 1847: Railway station established.
• 1856: Fire kills 6 children at the Deaf and Dumb Institution
• 1863 - 17 Sept: First train from Strabane to Stranorlar, Finn Valley Railway.
• 1865: Gourlie & Son Shirt factory established, Derry Road (NOT shown on map)

I don't know the exact date of the map, only that it was created at the same time as the Griffith's Valuation. However, because the Railway Station and the Deaf and Dumb School are featured, the map could be placed sometime between 1847 and 1856.

Related Documents:

1	Fires and Fire Fighting in Strabane: 18th and 19th centuries Page 4 - Deaf and Dumb School Fire 1856
2	1858 Griffiths Valuation for Strabane Lower