Armagh railway station

Coordinates: 54°21′40″N 6°36′47″W / 54.361°N 6.613°W

Armagh
Location Armagh, County Armagh
Northern Ireland
UK
History
Original company Ulster Railway
Post-grouping Great Northern Railway (Ireland)
Key dates
1 March 1848 Station opened
1865 Newry and Armagh Railway completed
12 June 1889 Armagh rail disaster
1910 Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway completed
1932 passenger service withdrawn from Armagh – Keady section of CKA
1933 Armagh – Markethill section of N&A closed
1 October 1957 Station closed

Armagh railway station was a railway station that served Armagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Development

The Ulster Railway opened Armagh station in 1848, linking the city with Belfast.[1] The Ulster Railway was extended from Armagh to Monaghan in 1858[1] and Clones in 1863.[2]

The Newry and Armagh Railway (N&A) opened in 1864, and had its own temporary terminus just outside Armagh until it started using the Ulster Railway station in 1865.[1]

The Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway (CK&A) was completed in 1910.[1] In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the new Great Northern Railway (GNR), which took over the N&A in 1879 and the CKA in 1911.[3]

Rail disaster

Main article: Armagh rail disaster

The Armagh rail disaster, which killed 80 people and injured 260, occurred on 12 June 1889 on the N&A line near Armagh.[4] An excursion train had to climb a steep gradient, but the locomotive stalled. The crew decided to divide the train but when they did the rear portion had inadequate brake power and ran back down the gradient, colliding with a following train. Most of the eighty people killed were women. It was previously thought that more children were killed, but most children were saved by jumping out of windows.

Decline and closure

The partition of Ireland in 1922 hastened the railways' decline, and the GNR closed the Keady – Castleblayney section of the CKA in 1923.[5] The GNR withdrew passenger trains from the Armagh – Keady section of the CKA in 1932 and closed the Armagh – Markethill section of the N&A in 1933.[5] The Government of Northern Ireland made the GNR Board close the remaining lines serving Armagh on 1 October 1957: the goods branch from Armagh to Keady and the main line through Armagh from Portadown as far as the border at Glaslough on the way to Monaghan.[5][6]

Routes

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Richhill   Ulster Railway
Portadown to Clones 1848-1876		   Killylea
Retreat Halt   Great Northern Railway (Ireland)
Portadown to Clones 1936-1957		   Killylea
Terminus   Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway
Armagh to Castleblayney		   Irish Street Halt
Armagh (N&A)
1864 -1865		   Great Northern Railway
Newry and Armagh Railway		   junction

Future link to Portadown

There is a possibility of a future reopened railway line to Portadown.[7] Government Minister for the Department for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA indicates railway restoration plans.[8]

Railway Street, Armagh

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hajducki, S. Maxwell (1974). A Railway Atlas of Ireland. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. map 8. ISBN 0-7153-5167-2.
  2. ↑ Hajducki, 1974, map 14
  3. ↑ Hajducki, op. cit., page xiii
  4. ↑ McCutcheon, Alan (1969). Ireland. Railway History in Pictures 1. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. pp. 104, 105. ISBN 0-7153-4651-2.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hajducki, op. cit., map 39
  6. ↑ Baker, Michael H.C. (1972). Irish Railways since 1916. London: Ian Allan. pp. 153, 207. ISBN 0-7110-0282-7.
  7. ↑ The Ulster Gazette. 16 May 2013
  8. ↑ "Kennedy has hopes for Armagh line restoration - Portadown Times". Retrieved 2013-08-21.