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LINKED PUBLICATIONS
The County Donegal Railway – A Visitor’s Guide, by Joe Begley, Dave Bell, Steve Flanders & Dave White
The Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway – A Visitor’s Guide, by Dave Bell & Steve Flanders
These publications were written by enthusiasts for the two great railway systems of County Donegal:
• The County Donegal Railway itself which linked Derry to Donegal and Killybegs via Strabane and Stranorlar with branches to
Letterkenny, Glenties and Ballyshannon.
• The Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway which linked Derry with Buncrana and Carndonagh plus Letterkenny and
Burtonport.
These publications give short historical descriptions of each line and then a thorough guide to all the visible remains around the County together with narrative and map references. Both are available from County Donegal Railway Restoration Limited at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre at the contact address and numbers on the heading of this leaflet.
THE “FIRST FIFTEEN”
This leaflet is a thumbnail guide to the first fifteen visit points chosen for the Trail of the Rail. Overleaf are thumbnail pictures of each location together with the map references. Below we give a short description of the details and appeal of each site.
1 Carndonagh Station
Opened 1901, closed 1935, the terminus of the extension from Buncrana. Nearly all the original buildings are intact and the main station building is being restored. It is an attractive combination of masonry walls with colour contrasting yellow brick dressings, and decorative barge boards and ridge tiles. The station is owned by Atlanfish who hope to provide a small visitor display. Meanwhile visitors are asked to call at the office for permission to explore.
2 Buncrana Station
This is now the Drift Inn public house and a number of railway pictures are kept inside. Visitors are encouraged to call in for refreshment, information and permission to explore. Buncrana Station was opened in 1864, originally as a 5’3” gauge – hence the width between the platforms and buildings - and closed in 1953. It was the largest station building on the whole of the L&LSR, and a very attractive with multiple dormers and features.
3 Fahan Station
This was the next actual station towards Derry from Buncrana and also opened in 1864 and closed in 1953. Passengers could approach via a set of steps from the adjacent road overbridge and both features are still extant. Behind the station the remains of the old jetty whence steamers plied across Lough Swilly and connected with the rail services. The station is now a restaurant with a number of railway pictures and
artefacts.
4 Foyle Valley Railway, Derry
This is a museum housing a collection of County Donegal Railway locos and rolling stock owned by Derry City Council and North West of Ireland Railway Society. The museum was open on Tues to Sat in 2003. Locomotive
Meenglas, in poor condition, sits outside and is accessible outside of opening hours.
5 Dry Arch Roundabout, Shell Bridge, old Railway Station, Letterkenny
The first is the Dry Arch Bridge on the roundabout where N13 and N14 join. This was built to replace the original L&LSR bridge at that location. The Shell Bridge is also part of the route of the L&LSR and lies in the grounds of the Holiday Inn. Originally there were two railway stations beside each other but now only the CDR building remains as the bus station beside station roundabout. The adjacent CDR goods shed is being carefully extended to two
storeys.
6 Barnes Gap Viaduct and Owencarrow Viaduct
Both were part of the L&LSR and are easily combined with a visit to
Glenveagh. Barnes Cap viaduct remains straddle the N56. The Owencarrow Viaduct was the scene of a major accident in 1925 when violent winds blew a train off the rails. It can be seen from a side road off the N56 about a mile NW of Barnes Gap Viaduct.
7 Muckish Drive, Crossing Cottages and embankments
About a mile west down this road the railway joins from the south, and the embankments and a crossing cottage beside the road are clearly visible. At the west end of the tarred road the railway embankment is massive and enables a climb into the mountains to
Falcarragh.
8 Cashelnagore Station
Located with Errigal as a scenic backdrop and often referred to ads the most isolated station in the County, Cashelnagore was briefly revived by cosmetic restoration for the set of the film The Railway Station Man starring Donald Sutherland. Amazing setting in which to imagine the old steam trains passing. Buildings and platform survive.
9 Driveable trackbed north of Loughanure
A chance to drive for some two miles in a scenic wonderland along the actual trackbed the trains took on their way from Letterkenny to
Burtonport. Road condition reasonable though not all fully under tarmac.
10 Fintown Station and CTGL Railway
Home of CTGL who currently run an original CDR railcar on the original CDR trackbed of the Glenties line. Usually open weekends in summer. The track can be seen beside the road for several miles.
11 Killybegs Pier and old railway siding
The pier siding which ran directly from the old station can be clearly seen. These are the original rails sunk into the road surface on the pier. Fish and coal were unloaded here onto the railway. The station site is under the road which runs at right angles to the pier
12 Bunlacky River Bridge, Dunkineely
This is a two-arch river bridge, which once led onto an embankment running west across the field. The formation then ran under a three-arch road bridge just visible when looking west at the site. That bridge is on a narrow road leading to the beach from the edge of the village.
13 Donegal Railway Heritage Centre and restored local crossing cottage
This is the base of our operations with a museum in the original station building open year-round (weekdays only in winter) with rolling stock on show, videos of the old railways in operation, and a shop with specialist railway publications about the liens in Donegal and many other railway trinkets and toys. Crossing Cottage No 9 has been fully restored to original condition and can be seen beside the road in Drumark town land.
14 Derg Bridge and the railway in Barnesmore Gap
Derg Bridge was once the site of a halt and the summit of the climb between Donegal and
Stranorlar. 1950s summers would see excursions of 12 or more coaches climbing through the Gap on the line you can still see on the mountainside on the east side of Barnesmore Gap. Derg Bridge is the road over bridge taking the now surfaced road to Castled erg from the N15. The parapet is damaged and we hope this landmark will soon be repaired. There is a useful lay-by for parking 0.8 miles towards Donegal Town from the bridge and the shelf on which the railway was built through the Gap in 1882 can be seen from there.
15 Rossnowlagh skew arch bridge beside the Friary
This is a substantial and attractive railway bridge almost opposite the Friary. It was built for the Ballyshannon branch which opened from Donegal Town in 1905 and closed in 1959. The skew means that the passage though the arch is not at right angles to it and this gives the bridge added interest.
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