The Banbridge Junction Railway was a railway line that operated between Banbridge, County Down and Scarva, County Armagh. Opened in 1859, it was absorbed into the Great Northern Railway of Ireland in 1887. The line closed in the 1950s.
| Banbridge, Newry, Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway | |
 A section of the former line, which closed in 1955, pictured near Lenaderg in 1969 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1859–1955 |
| Successor | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNRI) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) |
| Length | approx. 5 to 6 miles[1][2] |
History
editThe company that operated the railway line, initially named the Banbridge, Newry, Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway Company, was created by the Banbridge Junction Railway Act 1853.[3][4] The initial shareholders of the company included several local mill owners and linen producers, such as Thomas Ferguson, John Smyth, Robert McClelland and William Waugh.[3] The company was renamed, to the Banbridge Junction Railway Company, under the Banbridge Junction Railway Act 1856.[5]
Development of the line took place in the mid- to late-1850s, and railway engineers associated with the survey, design and construction work included James Price[6][7] and William Dargan.[8] The Banbridge Junction Railway (BJR) opened in 1859.[9]
The line, which was approximately 5 miles in length, connected the Banbridge Railway with the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway.[1] It served several mills, which were involved in producing Irish linen, along the River Bann near Banbridge.[10][11]
The BJR was absorbed into the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNRI) in 1877.[9][2][12] The line closed in 1955.[9]
Stations
editStations and halts on the line included:[13]
- Banbridge (BJR) station (1859–1863); Replaced by Banbridge (BLBR) station (1863–1950s)
- Smyth's Siding passenger halt[13] (c. 1903–1930s)[14][15]
- Lenaderg station (1904–1955)[16]
- Laurencetown station (1859–1955)[17][18]
- Scarva station (terminus)[1]
References
editSources
edit- Butt, R.J.V. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Stephens. ISBN 9781852605087.
- Ayres, Bob (2003). "Irish Railways" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
Notes
edit- ^ a b c Knox, Alexander (1875). A History of the County of Down. Hodges, Foster & Company. p. 99.
The Banbridge Junction Railway forms a connection between the Banbridge Railway, and the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railroad, at Scarva. Its length is about five miles, with an intervening station at Laurencetown
- ^ a b "Banbridge Junction Railway Company". scripoworld.com. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Banbridge Junction Railway Act 1853". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Banbridge Junction Railway (Lease) Act 1860". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Banbridge Junction Railway Act 1856". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Jones, Stefanie P. (2009). "Price, James". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.007499.v1.
Price [..] was appointed resident engineer in charge of surveying the Banbridge Junction railway line (1855–7), ultimately overseeing its construction (1858–9)
- ^ "Price, James". Dictionary of Irish Architects. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
Price [..] was employed from 1855 to 1857 as resident engineer of the Banbridge Junction Railway
- ^ Mulligan, Fergus. "Dargan, William". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.002407.v1.
Back in Ireland Dargan came to dominate railway construction in the 1850s [..] After this came the [..] Banbridge Junction Railway. There were few railway projects in which he was not involved
- ^ a b c "Banbridge Junction Railway". railscot.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ "Railway Stations in County Down". rosdavies.com. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
The pressure from the linen industry saw the opening of the railway from Banbridge to Scarva in 1859
- ^ Proudfoot, Lindsay J. (1997), Down: History & Society, Geography Publications, p. 620, ISBN 9780906602805,
In its vicinity [Banbridge] were many large textile mills and associated housing. It was logical therefore, that once the D.B.J.R. established a main line between Newry and Portadown in 1852, they should build a connection to Banbridge. Accordingly, a spur was constructed off the main line at Scarva by the Banbridge Junction railway between 1852 and 1859 [..] It was of particular benefit to the mills, facilitating the import of coal, flax and yarn, and the export of cloth
- ^ "1932 Great Northern Railway (Ireland)". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Northern Ireland Railways & Tramways - SL 19 1 - Passenger Lines - Stations & Stops" (PDF), branchline.uk, p. 2, retrieved 7 October 2024
- ^ Railscot 2003, p. 53 "Smyth's Siding [Opened] ??.??.1903 [Pass[enger] Closure] ??.??.1937".
- ^ Butt 1995, p.214 "Smyth's Siding GN(I) [..] OP[EN] by 1904; CL[OSED] after 1929 ".
- ^ Railscot 2003, p. 39.
- ^ Railscot 2003, p. 38.
- ^ Butt 1995, p. 139.
External links
edit
- Proposed Banbridge Junction Greenway
- "Off the Beaten Track - Scarva to Banbridge and Newcastle", episode 2 of 5-part BBC/RTÉ series (1997) via YouTube
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