1977

J4180 : Special train at Cultra station - 1977

taken 47 years ago, near to Craigavad, Co Down, Northern Ireland

Special train at Cultra station - 1977
Special train at Cultra station - 1977
Taking full advantage of the through running to Bangor possible following re-opening of the Central line in 1976, the North West of Ireland Railway Society organised a number of special trains from Londonderry/Derry to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum at Cultra. Used mostly by school parties, the first of these trains enters Cultra station - for more recent views of the station building, see: J4180 : Old station building, Cultra (1) .
The Belfast – Bangor railway line

The Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR) opened its railway line from Belfast (Queen’s Quay) to Holywood on 2 August 1845. This line was extended to the seaside resort of Bangor by the Belfast Holywood & Bangor Railway (BHBR), which opened on 18 May 1865. The BCDR absorbed the BHBR in 1884.

While double-track throughout, the BCDR always regarded its Bangor line as a branch off the main line to Newcastle. However, creation of the nationalised Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1948 changed matters somewhat as only the Belfast – Bangor line survived the mass closures implemented by the UTA in 1950. The old BCDR Bangor line received a further blow in 1965 when it was isolated from the rest of the Irish railway system by closure of the Belfast Central Railway line from Ballymacarrett Junction (east of Queen’s Quay station) to Central Junction, just west of the former GNR(I) Great Victoria Street station (see: Link ). However, on a positive note, introduction of UTA built MED railcars gave Belfast – Bangor the distinction of being the first main railway line in the British Isles to be operated solely by diesel traction.

In 1976, the Belfast Central Railway reopened as part of a project to replace both the GNR(I) Great Victoria Street station and the BCDR Queen’s Quay with a “central” station situated in east Belfast. Today (2013), Belfast – Bangor is an important part of the Northern Ireland Railways’ system, with services to Bangor originating from Portadown or the reinstated Great Victoria Street station. While diesel locomotives may occasionally visit with engineer’s trains, all passenger services are in the hands of Spanish built 3000 or 4000 class railcars.

For photographs of the former line to Newcastle, please see: Link . For photographs at Queen's Quay station and Central Services Depot, please go to: Link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright The Carlisle Kid and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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J4180, 140 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
The Carlisle Kid   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 17 June, 1977   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 15 June, 2013
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 416 803 [100m precision]
WGS84: 54:39.0772N 5:48.3415W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 416 803
View Direction
WEST (about 270 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph · First in 5 Years (TPoint) (about)
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