The Lough Swilly Railway (Revised ed)
New & revised edition, 1988
Unlike The County Donegal Railways, the subject of the first volume of this two-part work, the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway had an unenviable reputation during part of its career. At times almost everything went wrong with it that could go wrong with a railway.
It began as a standard-gauge line linking Derry city with fertile east Donegal. After two decades of near bankruptcy, it was joined with the Letterkenny Railway and became narrow gauge to enjoy nearly a generation of modest prosperity. This ended when the company took over two Government-built lines penetrating far into the remote, mountainous north-west of County Donegal. With inadequate locomotives and repair facilities among other difficulties, punctuality was rare. But worse was to come during The Troubles, when ambushes completed the chaos.
Order was restored in the early 192os, but the company quickly realised that its future in areas of sparse population lay with road transport. It was not, how-ever, until 1953 that the last section of railway was closed, and the company's buses and lorries still provide an integrated transport service.
The author has had access to much unpublished official information, and this is one of the 'meatiest' histories of a narrow-gauge system so far written. We read of steam services, the largest locomotives to run on the narrow gauge in the British Isles, derailments by savage gales, and running battles with the Board of Works.
Hardback with dust jacket , 192 pages, 24 pages of black & white plates and numerous maps and other drawings within the text
Condition: Good/Very Good - tanning to pages
ISBN: 9780715391679
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