Traveling through County Donegal, in the far north west of Ireland, one is struck by the contrasting landscape. Tall granite mountains and vast areas of barren moorland to the west give way to the flatter and more fertile lands of the upper Finn valley and the Foyle basin to the east. Much of it would appear an unlikely environment for a railway, yet it was here that what was to become the largest narrow gauge railway network in the British Isles operated, the 125-mile network operated by the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee, arguably the finest of all the Irish narrow gauge lines.

The origins of the County Donegal Railway date to the middle of the 19th century, when landowners from the Stranorlar area sought to capitalise on the expansion of the Irish railway network of the 1850's as a means of increasing the prosperity of the region. Chief among them were Lord Lifford and Sir Samuel Hayes whose efforts secured the necessary Parliamentary legislation for the incorporation of the Finn Valley Railway Company (FVR) in May 1860 for the construction of a line, to the Irish standard gauge of 5ft 3in, from Stranorlar to Strabane, connecting with the Irish North Western Railway (INWR, later to form the Great Northern Railway of Ireland, GNR(I)). On opening in September 1863, this gave the Finn Valley area access to the ports of Derry, Belfast and ultimately Dublin.

Following the opening of the FVR, it was not long before the merchants of Donegal town called for an extension of the line through the Bluestack mountains to Donegal. But the years passed and it was not until 1879 that a new company, the West Donegal Railway (WDR), was formed. Necessary Parliamentary approval and the finance to proceed were only secured after the decision was taken to build the line to the 3ft gauge. Even then, delays resulting from severe winter weather drained finances and, as a result, the line terminated in a field in the townland of Druminin, close to Lough Eske and four miles from Donegal Town. This section of the line opened to traffic on the 25th April 1882, passengers being ferried the remaining miles to Donegal by horse and cart. An extension to Donegal Town was eventually opened on 16th September 1889 but only after a separate company had been formed to finance the building of the station house.

1889 saw the passing of the Light Railways (Ireland) Act, designed to develop the railway system by means of light railways, whereby promoting companies could apply for State aid towards the cost of construction of new lines. This funded the construction of two extensions – a 19 mile line from Donegal Town to the fishing port of Killybegs, opened in August 1893 and a 24 mile branch from Stranorlar, following the course of the upper Finn and the Shallogan rivers to Glenties, which opened in June 1895. By this time the FVR and WDR had merged under parliamentary sanction in 1892 as the Donegal Railway Company (DR), which now operated 75½ miles of track. With the expansion of the narrow gauge network, the decision to re-gauge the FVR section to 3ft was made and this was completed over a single weekend in July 1894. Linked to this was the need to reconsider the company’s entry to Strabane – up to this time, the FVR used the INWR station – and a separate station was built adjacent to the broad gauge station of their former landlords.

Two further extensions were soon planned, this time without Government aid. It had very quickly become clear, that the problems of trans-shipment at Stranorlar had simply transferred to Strabane and indeed were worsened by the need to transship goods from the Finn Valley section. So access to Derry, the major port for Donegal, was sought and, despite opposition from the GNR(I) to the DR extension, which would effectively duplicate its own line, Parliamentary approval was obtained with the Donegal Railway Act 1896. The line was constructed and ran on the eastern side of the river Foyle, through counties Tyrone and Derry, to its terminus in Victoria Road, Derry, opening to traffic in August 1900.

The 1896 Act also granted approval for construction of a branch line 15½ miles in length, from Donegal to Ballyshannon. However, the company struggled to raise the necessary finance, so much so that after five years the necessary powers had lapsed and a second Donegal Railway Act 1902 was required before construction could proceed. The branch opened in September 1905, serving en-route the seaside resort of Rossnowlagh, and extending the DR’s route mileage to 104¾ miles.

But the rapid growth had drained finances, however, and resulted in the Company being taken over by the GNR(I) and the Midland Railway of England (MR) in 1906. The Donegal Railway Company ceased to be and operation was overseen by a board, comprising members of the boards of the owning companies, under the title the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee (CDRJC). Under the new arrangement all lines were operated by the CDRJC, though the Strabane to Derry section was to be the sole property of the MR.

The final addition to the system, and the last public narrow gauge railway to be built in Ireland, was the Strabane & Letterkenny Railway (SLR), planned to connect the CDR at Strabane with the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway (LLSR) at Letterkenny. Financial shortfalls similar to that experienced by the old WDR occurred, with a separate company being required to build the Letterkenny terminus and the connection to the L&LSR. Operations commenced on 1st January 1909, the new line bringing the total route mileage operated by the CDRJC to 124¾ miles – the largest narrow gauge system in the British Isles. The S&LR remained independent throughout the operating life of the railway, but was always worked by the CDRJC.

Much of the subsequent history of the CDRJC was down to Henry Forbes, General Manager from 1910 until his death in 1943. Forbes was the railway’s great driv¬ing force, inspiring the staff to ever higher standards of service. He had a legendary “waste nothing” policy but was also an astute businessman and perhaps his greatest achievement was the development of railcar workings to contain costs and counter the rising threat from road transport. His ‘stop anywhere’ policy undoubtedly extended the life of the CDR, allowing it to compete with bus operators, which was in sharp contrast to the approach of their neighbours, the LLSR, who saw their future in road transport as early as the 1930’s.

The earlier railcars were a combination of second-hand acquisitions and conversions, produced by the successful partnership of the GNRI works in Dundalk and O’Doherty’s, local coachbuilders in Strabane. The construction and operation of these early vehicles gave valuable experience and a noted landmark for the CDR was the introduction of the first diesel-powered railcars in these islands in 1931. The lifespan of the early cars was relatively short but as their engines wore out, many were given a new lease of life by having the engines removed and being converted to trailer units, an initiative introduced by Forbes to increase the railcars’ passenger carrying abilities.
The later railcars were the elegant articulated units from Walker Brothers’ of Wigan, the last of which can still be seen on the Isle of Man Railway. Railcar workings offered both economy and flexibility of operation – typical workings on the branch lines would consist of a railcar, possibly a trailer and one or two freight wagons. As a result, the steam engines were, in the latter days, largely redundant, being confined to freight workings or the occasional excursion traffic.

Following Forbes’ sudden death in 1943, B.L. Curran, the company accountant, was appointed and remained as General Manager until closure. He took over at a time when expenditure was soaring, particularly as a consequence of the rising wage and fuel bills of the post-war years and despite very able efforts, the beginning of the end was already in sight. The relentless rise of competing road traffic and the need for wholesale new investment in track and equipment were finally taking its toll. As the parent companies had their own financial difficulties and were unwilling to provide the large scale investment that would be necessary to maintain a satisfactory service, there would have to be operating economies.

By 1947, the income from the Glenties branch did not justify its continued operation and the last regular passenger and goods service ran on 13th of December that year. Occasional goods services continued until the line was closed officially to all traffic in 1952. The Derry section was the next to go – since 1948 this section had been part of the rail system of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) and, as losses mounted, the UTA closed the branch on the last day of 1954.

Application was made for the closure of the Ballyshannon branch in 1957 but because of the poor state of the Donegal roads, the County Council objected and the branch survived until final closure. Formal application for complete closure of the system was made in May 1959 and all services ceased on 31st December 1959 when the last train from Strabane, a five coach special hauled by Locomotive No 5 Drumboe, pulled into Stranorlar at 8.21 pm.

Some goods specials continued to run on the Finn Valley section until February 1960, while an unofficial passenger service was provided for several weeks by Joe Thompson, the regular driver of the Ballyshannon branch, until his car was removed. The railway services were replaced by road services, a fleet of busses and lorries continuing to carry the name of the railway until taken over by CIE in 1971.

The task of dismantling the railway began with the Ballyshannon branch in March 1960, using railcars 12, 16 and 18 as motive power for the tracklifting trains. The work was completed by mid-June and railcars 12 and 16 were then used to lift the Killybegs line, completing the work by September. Meanwhile No 4 Meenglas was used to lift the rails over the Barnesmore Gap back to Stranorlar, which was reached by early October. Phoenix and Erne were employed to dismantle the S&LR, whilst the last section to go was the original Finn Valley line where motive power was provided by Meenglas and Railcar 10. Following the lifting of the track, stock was scattered about the system and arrangements were made for disposal by public auction. Fortunately, by now, the Belfast Transport Museum had been established. It had already been presented with pioneer Railcar No 1 and now acquired Railcar 10, ex-Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway trailer No 3, Class 5a No 2 Blanche, diesel tractor cab Phoenix and saloon coach No.1. At auction, the Isle of Man Railway bought the two newest railcars, 19 and 20, while the scrap merchants acquired Class 5a tanks Nos. 1 Alice and 3 Lydia and railcars 14 and 15. Trailer No 5, the first and only purpose built railcar trailer was sold to Donegal Town football club where it served as the cash office for many years.

Of particular note, a quantity of rolling stock was acquired by Dr Ralph Cox, an American dentist, with a view to building his own railway in New Jersey. His purchases included the Class 5 tanks Nos. 4 Meenglas, 5 Drumboe (both isolated at Strabane), No. 6 Columbkille and Railcars 12, 16 and 18 (all stored at Stranorlar), Class 4 No 11 Erne (isolated at Letterkenny) together with a number of coaches, wagons and track, most of which was left at Strabane station awaiting collection. As we shall see, these purchases were to play a significant part in preservation of CDR stock.

Course of the line

The administrative headquarters were at Stranorlar, where around two hundred men were employed in the various departments. In addition to the impressive station buildings, there was an engine shed capable of accommodating sixteen engines, together with well equipped carriage and wagon shops. The main station building led onto the up platform which was partly roofed. This platform curved to the right to serve the Glenties branch, which crossed the river Finn immediately beyond the station on a large single span girder bridge.

The down platform curved sharply left and from here, the line to Donegal first followed the River Finn, then after a ½ mile or so, crossed it on a viaduct of four central girder spans of 40ft 6in with two masonry arch approaches of 12 ft span on either side. Thereafter a lengthy climb of nearly six miles at gradients of between 1:50 and 1:60 commenced. Meenglas Halt, 2¼ from Stranorlar, was the home station of Lord Lifford, the first Chairman. It was alleged by come CDR workers that a gentler route could have been taken to the Barnesmore Gap but the route through Meenglas was taken to facilitate Lord Lifford.

Beyond Meenglas, the climb continued at 1 in 60 for a further three miles then plateaued as it ran alongside Lough Mourne. A further brief climb beyond the Lough and the summit of the system, at 591 ft was reached at Derg Bridge Halt. This single platform halt opened in 1912 and a 400 ft siding was added in 1946 to facilitate the transport of locally quarried sand and gravel to Ballyshannon for construction of the Erne hydro-electric scheme.

Beyond Derg Bridge, Barnesmore Gap opened. The line swung away to the left to run along a shelf cut on the southern face of Barnesmore Mountain, descending at 1 in 60 for three miles before leveling to enter Barnesmore Halt (or “Barrack Bridge for Barnesmore”). By now the line had descended 300 ft from the summit and the descent continued, though more gently, as the line passed under the main Donegal Road and then along the River Eske to Lough Eske, originally named Druminin and the initial terminus of the West Donegal Railway. A passing loop was to the east of the station while immediately beyond the station the road was crossed on only the second set of gates from Strabane. For the final four miles to Donegal, the line continued with a gentle descent, passing under the road to pass through Clar Bridge Halt and on to Donegal which was a terminus until the opening of the Killybegs extension.

Donegal station had both up and down platforms connected, from 1908, by a pedestrian overbridge. The down platform had a short bay while a bay to the up platform was originally a carriage shed. The station buildings stood on the down platform and comprised a single story section which contained the offices and ticket office and a two story stationmaster’s house. The latter originally had two gables, increased to three in 1924 to accommodate the stationmaster’s growing family. There was a single road engine shed, off the carriage road siding, which was too small to house any engine larger then a class 2 so was little used as these engines were withdrawn. A separate road led to the turntable which in later days found more use in turning railcars. The goods shed was to the rear of the down platform.

The westerly extension to Killybegs followed the coastline for much of its course in a bid to find an easy path through the drumlin country but still had a number of challenging gradients and sharp curves. Killymard Halt was 2½ miles from Donegal, beyond which was the Glen Bank, a stiff 1½ mile climb at 1:40 to Mountcharles, undulating thereafter to Doorin Road Halt the highest point on the extension. Thereafter the course was largely downward to Inver, 8¼ miles from Donegal. Inver was a crossing place though, as the passing loop was removed in the early 1900’s, passing could only be achieved by one train using the goods road. From Inver, the line swung towards the sea, passing Port Halt before swinging back inland, negotiating a difficult 1:40 climb on a 7½ chain curve to Dunkineely. This and Bruckless, 2½ miles further on, had cottage style station buildings similar to Inver and Mountcharles but their status was downgraded to halts in latter years. Beyond Bruckless, there was a climb of a further two miles to the halt of Ardara Road and thereafter the line descended to Killybegs station.

Here, the station house was identical to that at Donegal Town, before the third gable was added. The station had a single platform onto which a large overall roof was built, offering protection to passengers from the Atlantic winds. Beyond this was a turntable, first installed for railcars and made from the frames of a withdrawn Class 2 4-6-0T, later replaced by the frames of 2-6-4T no 19. A single road continued on beyond the station onto the pier for fish traffic.

The Ballyshannon branch from Donegal first ran out in a north easterly direction, parallel to the Stranorlar line but soon turned to the right, in a wide curve, to Hospital Halt. A 1½ mile climb to a summit at Drumbar was followed by descents through Laghy and Bridgetown before a climb to Ballintra, once an intermediate staff station, but from 1952, the Ballyshannon branch was operated as a single section. 3½ miles beyond was Rossnowlagh which served the popular beach and had a large volume of excursion traffic, particularly in later years. To cope, a turntable was transferred from Derry to turn both locomotives and railcars. A short distance beyond was Friary Halt, opened in 1953 to serve the Franciscan Friary. From here to Ballyshannon, the halts of Coolmore and Creevy and the crossings of Corker and Kildoney, railcar stopping places from the 1940s, were passed before a gentle descent brought the line to Ballyshannon station. The CDR terminus was on the north of the town – those wishing to connect with the GNR(I) services had to trek a mile across town to the other station. The CDR station building was a simple, single story corrugated building, similar to intermediate stations on the branch, but the station master’s house was a large two story structure.

The Glenties branch from Stranorlar diverged from the main line just in front of the offices and swung sharply towards the Finn, crossing it on a single span bridge, one of the largest of its kind in Ireland. This was originally destined for a norwegian broad gauge line but for some reason became available and found its way to Donegal. A halt serving Stranorlar's twin town of Balleybofey was immediately beyond the bridge. There followed a gradual ascent through wooded country, through Glenmore to Cloghan, which had a two story station house and goods shed. Beyond this, the Finn was crossed and a stiff 6 mile climb commenced as the line emerged into open country, following the course of the upper Finn to Ballinamore, a small halt in isolated country. After a further three miles of fairly level running Finntown was reached, on the shores of Lough Finn. Thereafter the course continued at a height reaching a summit just before the halt of Shallogans before descending, at an average gradient of 1:50 to Glenties.

East from Stranorlar, the line to Strabane travelled through the flat valley floor of the Finn river, with only gentle gradients being encountered. Castlefinn was the most important intermediate station and served as the Irish Free State (later Republic) customs post. Uncertainty as to the correct spelling of the station name may have resulted in one platform bearing the sign "Castlefin" with "Castlefinn" on the other. Similar discrepancies appeared on tickets and timetables. Killygordon, Liscooly and Clady were one platform stations with cottage like station buildings. The River Finn was crossed on the Urney Bridge to enter Northern Ireland and the line then crossed the river Mourne on a girder bridge to enter Strabane. The CDR station lay alongside that of the GNR(I).

From here, the Strabane & Letterkenny line swung sharply away from the station, crossed the river Foyle and re-entered Co Donegal at Lifford, a Republic of Ireland customs post. The line followed a level course through Ballindrait to Coolaghy Halt, beyond which was a stiff 1¾ mile bank to Raphoe. This station was a crossing point but, like Inver, its crossing loop was removed early on and crossing was achieved by trains using the goods road. A descent to Convoy station was followed by the 3 mile Convoy bank with grades of 1:50 and 1:60 before descending sharply to Glenmaquin, which also had a crossing loop. The remainder of the journey to Letterkenny was almost entirely downhill, the final 1½ miles being on the level as the CDR line crossed over the Swilly line to run into its terminus. The CDR and L&LSR stations were side by side and there was a spur line connection allowing some interchange.

The Derry line from Strabane first crossed the GNR line before heading north-eastwards away from the marshy lands of the Foyle. Donemana, just over 6 miles from Strabane, was a crossing place but it too had its crossing loop removed – this following a fatal accident in 1913. Beyond here was a gentle clime to the summit at Desertone Halt which was followed by a 4 mile descent before leveling off to enter Victoria Road in Derry. The terminus was by the Craigavon Bridge, just across the Foyle from the GNR(I)’s Foyle Road terminus.

Motive power

Steam Engines

The first narrow gauge engines to run were the three 2-4-0T engines, supplied in 1881 by Sharp Stewart & Co at a cost of £1,195 each. They were numbered 1-3 and given the names Alice, Blanche and Lydia. These were useful little engines but lacked power and struggled when the winds through the Gap were at their worst. They also had limited water and coal capacity and as the system expanded and more powerful engines were acquired they fell into disuse. Nos 2 and 3 had been withdrawn from service by 1905 and after lying out of use were offered for sale in September 1909. With no takers, No 2 was cut up the same year and No 3 in 1910. No 1, though, survived, undertaking shunting and branch duties and in 1918, went on loan to the CB&PR, remaining until 1921. The CB&PR offered to buy her but after sustained damage in an accident she was recalled to Donegal. However, she was not used again on the CDR and lay derelict in Stranorlar until scrapped in 1926.

For the opening of the Killybegs and Glenties branches, the state paid for six 4-6-0T engines, built by Neilson, Reid & Co. of Glasgow and designated Class 2. They were numbered and named No 4 Meenglas, No 5 Drumboe, No 6 Inver, No 7 Finn, No 8 Foyle and No 9 Columbkille. This class provided good service but their small coal capacity gave them a limited range and with the expansion of the system and the introduction of more powerful engines, they were less used. They also rode somewhat roughly when traveling bunker first, so much so that specific instructions in the 1911 Working Timetable were given to turn these engines to allow them to run chimney-first. In 1927 Nos. 5, 6 and 7 wore put in store, and gradually over the years were dismantled, to provide spares for Nos. 4, 8 and 9. By this time, one of the class worked the Glenties branch, one the Ballyshannon branch and the third was spare. As railcar operation increased, their use diminished further and all were withdrawn by 1937 when numbers and names were reassigned to the Class 5 engines.

Two large wheeled 4-4-4T engines arrived from Neilson, Reid & Co. in 1902, designed for fast running between Strabane and Derry in competition to the Great Northern. Their wheel arrangement was unique both in Ireland and for the narrow gauge in Britain. They were numbered and named No. 10 Sir James and No. 11 Hercules and designated Class 3. Despite their elegant appearance, their heavy axle loading made them unsuitable for operation over the rest of the system and they were trouble prone. With the introduction of the later classes, they became redundant and had been lying out of use for many years when finally cut up in 1935. Their wheel-arrangement, 4-4-4T, was unique in Ireland.

The expansion of the system coupled with a rapid increase in the volume of goods traffic resulted in the need for more powerful engines and in 1904 four 4-6-4T engines were supplied by Nasmyth Wilson of Manchester, who were to manufacture all subsequent steam engines on the CDR. The 4-6-4 wheel arrangement allowed for a bigger and more powerful tank engine, with greater coal capacity which could be equally at home running chimney or bunker-first. They had the distinction of being both the first and last Baltic tanks to operate in the British Isles. They were also the only engines of this wheel arrangement to operate on the Irish narrow gauge.

They were numbered 12-15 and named Eske, Owenea, Erne and Mourne after local rivers. Their size and axle loading initially restricted them to working between Stranorlar and Derry until the rest of the system was converted from 45 lb to 60 lb rail. Much was expected of them but they soon acquired a reputation for poor steaming and being extravagant on coal. RM Livesey, the locomotive engineer attributed this to the layout of the boiler tubes and had a complete vertical row removed from the centerline one of one of the engines when in for overhaul, resulting in much improved steaming. Later, following experience with the later class 5a, the class 4s were all superheated at various times between 1921 and 1923 and this greatly improved both performance and efficiency. In their time they operated all types of train but excelled on the heavy freight workings.

In the 1937 renumbering, following the withdrawal of Classes 1 to 3, the 4s were renumbered 9 - 12. No 12 Mourne was the first to be withdrawn, removed from service in 1940 and used for replacement parts for the other engines. No 10, Owenea, was involved in the fatal collision with railcar No 17 near Hospital Halt in 1949, suffering. She lay awaiting repairs but never reentered service, being scrapped instead in 1952 as freight traffic on the CDR began to fall. This also resulted in No 12 Eske being scrapped in 1954, when she became due for heavy overhaul. No 11 Erne survived until closure, busy to the last, making her the last operational Baltic tank in these islands. She hauled the last freight train over the old West Donegal section, on the night of the 30th December 1959. After closure, she worked the demolition train to Letterkenny where the lifting of the line left her isolated. She was purchased by Dr Ralph Cox in the public auction of March 1961 and lay, in the open at the mercy of thieves and vandals, awaiting shipment. In circumstances never satisfactorily explained, she was cut up in 1967.

Nasmyth Wilson were to supply eight further tank engines to the CDR, all with a 2-6-4 wheel arrangement. The first five were designated class 5, three of which arrived in 1907, the remaining two the following year. When originally supplied they were numbered and named 16 Donegal, 17 Glenties, 18 Killybegs, 19 Letterkenny and 20 Raphoe. In the 1937 renumbering Nos 16, 17, 18 and 20 became respectively Nos 4 Meenglas, 5 Drumboe, 6 Columbkille, and 8 Foyle. No 19 was never renumbered. By 1923, as all five engines were becoming due for heavy boiler overhaul, George Glover, chief engineer of the GNR(I), recommended the opportunity be taken to fit them with superheaters, and this was achieved between 1924 and 1929.The result was very efficient and powerful engines which were the main workhorses of the CDR in later years. No 16 (later No 4) briefly reverted to use of saturated steam in 1946 but soon had the superheater refitted.

No 19 was the engine involved in the Donemana accident of 1913. She was the first of the class to go, being withdrawn in 1940 and used for parts to keep the other engines running. IN 1950 her frames were sent to Killybegs where they formed the base of the turntable, replacing those of a class 2 which had earlier been used. No 8, Foyle, was scrapped in 1955 but the remaining three engines survived until closure.

In the mid 50’s, No 6, Columbkille, lay out of use in Strabane shed for some time. She was eventually overhauled in 1958, and had done only 5744 miles when the line closed. Her last operational task was to work a special goods train from Strabane to Letterkenny on 28th December 1959, following which she was found to have a broken axle which was replaced by one from No 8. After closure, the engine was purchased by Dr Ralph Cox and placed in the stores at Stranorlar, though not before being given a fresh coat of paint by the CDR workers.
No 4, Meenglas, survived until closure, clocking the highest mileage of the class in the process, despite a reputation for being a poor steamer! No 5, Drumboe, also survived to the end and hauled the last train into Stranorlar on the 31st January. Both these engines ended up in Strabane after rail lifting was complete and were both purchased by Dr Ralph Cox for transfer to the United States. The subsequent fate of these engines is detailed later.

By the time three further engines were being ordered from Nasmyth Wilson, the water capacity of class 5, at 1000 gallons, was proving inadequate for longer runs. The CDR requested the tank capacity to be increased to 2000 gallons but the makers suggested that if superheaters were fitted, 1500 gallon tanks would be adequate, saving weight in the process. The result was the three engines of Class 5a, delivered in 1912. On arrival, they were numbered and named Nos 21 Ballyshannon, 2A Strabane and 3A Stranorlar. In 1937, they took the numbers and names of the scrapped class 1 engines, becoming respectively Nos 1 Alice, 2 Blanche and 3 Lydia They were referred to as “the big engines” and mostly worked the heavy goods services on the Strabane-Letterkenny section. In later years, they were also often seen hauling the long excursion trains from Derry or Strabane to Ballyshannon. The three officially survived until closure, though Nos 1 and 3 lay out of service at the back of Stranorlar shed for a number of years awaiting overhaul that never materialized. No 2 Blanche, was the only operational engine of the class at closure and was secured for preservation by the Belfast Transport Museum.

Railcars

The CDR was a pioneer in the use of railcars, their use in turn, undoubtedly extending the life of the system. The first railcar was originally a petrol engined inspection car, supplied by Allday & Onions in 1907, which was pressed into emergency Mails service on the Glenties line during the coal strike of 1926. From this experience, Henry Forbes quickly realised the potential of railcars to fight off mounting road competition and began the search for larger cars. Two units (Nos 2 & 3) were purchased from the 4'8" gauge Derwent Valley Light Railway in 1926, regauged and, with a seating capacity of 17, gave good service until withdrawn in 1934.

No 4 was built by the GNR(I), Dundalk and O'Doherty, coachbuilders of Strabane, in 1928. It was based on a 30cwt Ford chassis, had a seating capacity of 21 and remained in service for nineteen years. No 5 was a trailer, built to extend the capacity of the railcars. The body was built by O'Doherty on a chassis supplied by Knutsford Motors. It had 29 seats and survived to the end when, after various uses, it was recovered for preservation in 1993. No 6 was a Reo engined, 31 seat car built by GNR(I)/O'Doherty in 1930. It operated until 1945, predominantly on the Glenties and Ballyshannon branches. It then had its engine removed and was re-built as a trailer, in which form it survived until 1958 when it was sold to a private owner in Mountcharles. Some of its last days were spent in the siding at Inver.

Two further GNR(I)/O'Doherty buses (Nos 7 & 8) followed in 1931 but with a significant difference. They were powered by Gardiner 6L2 engines, making them the first diesel powered railcars to see service in the British Isles. They mainly worked the Ballyshannon branch until both were withdrawn in 1949.

Nos 9 & 10 came from a fleet of four, Reo engined, ex-GNR road buses purchased by the CDR in 1940 to provide a road passenger services between Glenties and Portnoo. The poor state of the Donegal roads took their toll and all were ready for scrap within three years. The bodies of two, however, were still reasonably sound and they were rebuilt as rail cars in 1933 at Stranorlar. No 10 was destroyed by fire in Ballyshannon shed in 1939 but No 9 survived a further ten years, whereupon her engine, gearbox and front axle were refitted to railcar No 1.

Further second-hand acquisitions followed – a redundant, petrol engined, railcar was purchased from the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway in 1933, given a Reo engine and renumbered No 2, following withdrawal of the ex-DVLR cars. It gave eleven years service before being rebuilt as a trailer, in which form it survived until the end. On closure of the Dublin & Blessington Tramway in 1934, two railcars were acquired and regauged for use. One was converted to a four wheeled, sixteen seat trailer, number 13, which lasted ten years. The other, a Drewry petrol-engined unit became the second number 3 and operated as a 40-seater railcar for nine years, whereupon it was converted to a trailer and saw service to the end.

The final second hand purchases came in 1942 with the closure of the Clogher Valley Railway (CVR). In the late 1920s, the CVR was administered by a committee of management, which included Henry Forbes. The tramway was suffering from road competition and Forbes suggested they consider railcars, to cut operating costs. He arranged a loan of CDR No 4 and such was the success of this loan that the CVR ordered an articulated railcar Walker Bros of Wigan. This car proved very successful on the CVR, serving until the end of service on the last day of 1941. It then was acquired by the CDR, becoming No 10 in the CDR fleet and was the prototype for all subsequent CDR railcars. The CVR also acquired a four coupled diesel tractor from Walker Bros – this resembled the power unit of the railcar but had a short open wagon body. On closure, this was also acquired by the CDR, minus its Gardiner diesel engine and when No 10 sustained collision damage in the mid 50’s, the tractor’s cab was a ready made replacement. No 10 survived to the end whereupon it was acquired by the Belfast Transport Museum.

The remaining cars were all articulated, Walker Bros units, the coach bodies being built by the GNR(I) in Dundalk. Numbered 12 and 14-20 they were essentially variations on a theme, all carrying 41 passengers (43 in Nos 17 & 18). Nos 12 and 14 (1934/5) had half cabs, Nos 15-18 (1936-40) had full width cabs while Nos 19 and 20 (1950/1) had full fronted cabs, completely covering the engine. Nos 12, 14 and 15 had Gardiner 6L2 engines while the remainder had the more powerful 6LW unit. No 17 was destroyed in the fatal Hospital Halt crash of 1949. No 18 was severely damaged by fire the same year, but was extensively rebuilt. A number of these cars survive today - 19 & 20 on the Isle of Man Railway, 12 & 18 on the Foyle Valley Railway while No 15 awaits restoration.

One further, unique vehicle, number 11 in the railcar series was Phœnix. This began life as a steam tractor which arrived on the CVR in 1929, on demonstration from Atkinson Walker. The unit was not a success on the CVR but its makers went into liquidation so it lay out of use for a number of years in the back of the Aughnacloy works. In 1932, Forbes purchased it for the CDR, had it rebuilt with a Gardiner 6L2 engine and named it Phœnix. It gave useful service to the end, predominantly on shunting duties and customs working, and, on closure, was acquired by the Belfast Transport Museum.

Coaching Stock

A total of 59 coaches operated on the CDR. The first eleven, all 31ft, six wheel coaches were supplied to the West Donegal by the Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in 1982. Seven of these were converted to wagons in the late 1920's but No 1 survives in the Belfast Transport Museum. Seventeen 31ft bogie coaches, to cope with expansion, were purchased from the Oldbury Carriage & Wagon Company in 1893, all of which survived until closure. A further six, 36ft coaches followed from Oldbury in 1901 but when a further nine were ordered in 1905, Pickering Ltd. of Wishaw were the chosen suppliers. Oldbury supplied the next thirteen coaches, ordered for the Strabane & Letterkenny Railway in 1907, bringing the total number on the system to 56. This total remained until the emergence of the railcars in the mid 1920's when a number of conversions to goods vehicles commenced. With the exception of No 9, scrapping did not commence until 1952. The last additions to the stock were three corridor third coaches, purchased for the NCC in 1950. These were supplied to the Ballycastle line in 1928 for the Ballymena - Larne boat trains.

Wagons

The first wagons ordered came from Oldbury in 1881 and consisted of 40 covered vans, two brake vans and three open wagons. Further orders between 1893 and 1905 brought the fleet size to 233, comprising 135 covered, 75 open and 23 ballast wagons. With the partition of Ireland, customs clearance checks led to a strain on the wagon stock and to overcome this, Forbes converted aging passenger carriages to freight duties. Nineteen coaches were so converted, between 1926 and 1939, many surviving to the end.

The CDR did possess a number of bogie goods vehicles, though only one, No 159 from Oldbury, was purchased new. The remainder were either coach conversions or second-hand acquisitions from the Castlederg & Victoria Bridge Tramway or Clogher Valley Railway. Nine tank wagons were purchased by the CDR in 1954 (four from Shell, five from Esso) though these had in fact been in use on the system for a number of years.
Red Vans were lightweight vans, bought from the C&VBT and CVR for use behind railcars, with the intention of avoiding the need for passenger luggage to be loaded on the roof.

Epilogue

In the end Dr. Cox’s purchases never crossed the Atlantic, transhipment costs proving prohibitive, but his purchases did give something of a stay of execution to some of the CDR vehicles. As the cost of transport across the Atlantic proved prohibitive, his stock lay in Stranorlar, Strabane and Letterkenny and as the years passed, time, the elements and vandalism took their toll.

The stock at Strabane was reasonably secure until the closure of the GNR(I) station in 1964, after which they fell victim to the vandals and the elements. It was not long before all trace of the coaches and wagons had disappeared, whilst the engines had been stripped of anything removable and of value. Meenglas and Drumboe were to lie at Strabane, exposed to the elements, for more than two decades before being rescued. In Letterkenny, 4-6-4T Erne lay isolated, having worked the lifting trains out from Strabane. To help protect her from the elements, she was at one stage, given a coat of Swilly Green by the staff of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway Company who still operated a road transport service from their adjacent former railway station. In 1967, Hammond Lane, metal merchants from Dublin, arrived in Letterkenny, the CDR having sold all remaining stock, track etc to them for scrap, and cut her up. It’s unclear whether this was done in error or whether some authority was granted by the CDRJC, but it was a sad end to the last operational Baltic tank in these islands. Some years later, her dome was recovered from the hedges where she had lain and is currently in the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre.

Stranorlar offered the best protection to the Cox stock which was under the protection of the CDRJC office staff. Better still, some was under cover – railcar No 18 and carriage No 14 were housed in the carriage repair shop while Railcar No 12 and locomotive No 6 Columbkille were in the General Stores along with a red wagon. According to the late Peter Friel, former storeman in Stranorlar, Columbkille was given a fresh coat of paint by the CDR men before being put away - railcar 16 and a variety of wagons and chassis were left outside. The CDRJC was taken over by CIE in 1971 and plans were made to demolish the sheds, which were becoming dilapidated and unsafe, and create a bus yard. By this time, the men from Hammond Lane had moved from Letterkenny to Stranorlar and disposed of those items that remained outside.

CIE wrote to Dr Cox advising him of their plans and indicating that the remaining stock would have to be moved. Dr Cox paid a visit to Donegal in 1974, first meeting with the committee of the North West of Ireland Railway Society (NWWIRS), an organisation founded in 1970 with the aim of preserving the railway heritage of the North Wes of Ireland. The NWIRS had by this time founded the Foyle Valley Railway, opened on the 10th March 1973, at the CDR’s old station, at Victoria Road and constructed a 60 ft length of track, using rails acquired from the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners. Dr Cox agreed to the transfer of railcars and engine to Derry, in an arrangement whereby No 18 was given to the Society, though Dr Cox returned to the USA without agreeing to the transfer of any further stock.

The Victoria Road site closed in 1978, due to commercial pressures on the station’s owners but a temporary home was given to the Society and its possessions by Lord O’Neill, on his estate and private railway in Antrim, before relocating to Derry and the old GNR(I) station site at Foyle Road in 1990, in a co-operative venture with Derry City Council. This saw the opening of a museum, the construction of a length of track for 3½ miles south from Derry and the restoration of Railcars 18 and 12 to running order. The museum was closed by Derry City Council in 2000 since when it has opened on an occasional basis only.

Dr Cox’s 1974 visit also took in a trip to Strabane, with NWIRS members, to inspect his stock there – steam locomotives Drumboe and Meenglas and ten coaches. This stock had enjoyed some initial protection, being adjacent to the still functioning GNR(I) station, but when this closed in 1965, there was no longer security. By the time of the visit, the carriages had been reduced to frames and bogies and the locomotives had had any item of value removed and been reduced to rusting metal.

Subsequently, the grass and the bushes grew up around these once proud engines and they remained there until 1987, when plans to build a by-pass road through the station site were announced, which would have resulted in the engines being bulldozed. Instead the NWIRS managed to rescue them and they were removed to Pennyburn in Derry. No 4 was subsequently moved to the Foyle Valley Railway Museum in Derry and cosmetically restored. The fate of No 5 awaited further developments in restoration.

By the start of the 1990s, there were stirrings in Co. Donegal that lead to the foundation of the Co. Donegal Railway Restoration Society, with the aim of restoring a length of line operated by original CDR stock. The Society occupied the old station house in Donegal, which had lain boarded up and out of use for many years, restoring it to working use both as a museum and headquarters. No 5 Drumboe, was given on long term loan to the Society, by the NWIRS, with a view to restoration and subsequently moved to the station site. The Society discovered and reclaimed three other valuable pieces of original stock - Brake/3rd coach No 28, Railcar Trailer No 5 and the passenger section of railcar No 15. The Society subsequently changed in nature, becoming a limited company (County Donegal Railway Restoration Limited (CDRRL)) in line with new requirements for grant aid in Ireland. Business plans have been submitted for the restoration of a running line from the station to the first crossing cottage, some ¾ miles distant, and a number of other railway vehicles have been recovered and moved to the station site. For an update on the current restoration work at the Heritage Centre see http://www.cdrrl.com