J3773 : December snow, Belfast 2009-8
taken 14 years ago, 4 km E of Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland
The snow, which had affected London and the South East reached Belfast overnight on 19/20 December 2009. Not particularly heavy, it seemed to cause minimal disruption on a Sunday morning. There was a slow thaw once the sun had risen.
The Belfast and County Down Railway ran from Queen’s Quay station in Belfast to Castlewellan via Comber, Downpatrick and Newcastle. There were also lines from Comber to Donaghadee via Newtownards, Belfast to Bangor and branches from Ballynahinch Jct to Ballynahinch and Downpatrick to Ardglass. The lines opened between 1848 and 1892. All closed by 1950 except for Castlewellan – Newcastle which survived until 1955 as part of the GNR(I) route from Belfast via Banbridge and the Bangor line which remains open but from Belfast Central.