Farewell to the Derry Road

[@andrewhamilton6251]

Just found this video, and it is very personal to me! I worked in Northern Ireland for about a year that covered late 1964 and early 1965, and in that time I traveled on the "last train" over three routes that should have survived for the general good of the community. 1) the lines through Newry, 2) the GNR Derry Road, shown here, 3) on the Scottish side, "the Port Road" into Stranraer from the South, all shocking to the Northern Ireland economy and all encouraging more dependancy on motor traffic. I wasn't involved with the steam service on the last Saturday of the Derry Road, but resolved to travel out and back from Belfast on the Sunday,the actual last day, and return on the "real " last train out of Foyle Road! This was described in the video, as the usual diesel unit. The rostered diesel unit failed at Belfast in the morning, and had to be dragged away by a 4-4-0 steam engine, it might actually have been No171, big cheers from all on the platform and calls of "we want to go on that train" unfortunately, an other diesel was brought in! With the brashness of youth, I intruded on private grief and interrupted a private conversation between driver and signalman at Sixmilecross and asked what was to become of the station furniture, the signalman said it wasn't his concern, so I attempted to remove a nameboard, not one of the main "running in" boards but a smaller one on a lamp post. The driver laughed at me saying it was too heavily rusted on, it came straight off! I don't remember what became of my prize, I have a vague memory of carrying it through Belfast in the small hours, but by then, drink had been taken(!) I probably left it on the train or gave it away, I hope it survived in a good home! The return journey on "the regular diesel " was in a more somber mood. In old railway tradition, when a line is closed, all the stock of detonators (explosive fog signals) is placed on the rails to be exploded by the last train. In the first mile I lost count at about 150! A little tasteless now in the light of later events, but it was tradition. One more comment on this line, the stations on the west side of the Foyle, in the Republic, were strictly speaking, CIE property and staff, but only served by UTA trains, I remember one time when the tobacco duties either side of the border obviously had got out of sync and as the single line token was picked up, a carton of 200 cigarettes was attached! Simpler times, in some ways.

[@johnkirwan6327]

Criminal what the the then Northern Ireland government did with this line. Economically and environmentally this line needs to return

[@davidblevins4448]

This line should never have closed and would be a valuable economic asset today, along with the 6 mile Warrenpoint branch and Portadown to Clones line

[@martinwalsh3228]

The reopening of the "Western Rail Corridor" would connect the west of Ireland with "Northern Ireland" by trains to cut down on 1) Traffic Jams, 2) Car Accident and Road deaths and 3) Pollution Ireland needs extra money to reopen all Closed railway lines not used for roughly half a century of course.

[@normken]

Thanks for posting this Brian, I still have a VHS copy somewhere!!! I work a lot in the Dungannon-Pomeroy area, never a day goes by without thoughts of what might have been.... Thanks again.

[@frognote]

You are very welcome. I converted this from a VHS for my Farther's birthday. He is from Omagh and kept the VHS recording from the original airing date. I'm happy others are able to enjoy this as much as I know my father does.

[@robinparkes9]

Brian wilson I still have the video and was wanting to get that programme and a couple of others onto a DVD. It's sad to think that it could have survived had it just lasted into NIR days.

[@richardmcgowan5878]

Fascinating to see this. Thank you.

[@Sammy1234568910]

I used to have the VHS copy, still wish I had it, but thank you for allowing me to re enjoy this film again.

[@lloydspence8003]

Fabulous!! We have the same nostalgia here in Fermanagh.

[@oxouk]

I remember in the early 80's being on a train to Derry. We sat for 2 hours or so at one point because there was a bomb on the tracks. I've always had a love for trains. They helped industrialize the world.

[@ArcadiaJunctionModelTrains]

different train line

[@fiferjohnston]

I love railways and flute bands, great video.

[@kayveen5853]

Industrial vandalism on a large scale. The musical accompaniment was nice.

[@barneyrubbles2485]

A VERY NICE PART TO WATCH INDEAD. AND YES RAIL FOR MOVING GOODS ALL AROUND IS BETTER.

[@larrylowemusic8748]

Great wee film!

[@davey9955]

Worked as a fireman on these jeeps, sad day they closed these lines

[@sararyan1255]

🇮🇪🇮🇪Derry 🇮🇪🇮🇪

[@ArcadiaJunctionModelTrains]

All gone... ALL GONE NOW!

[@AndalusianIrish]

Very sad and short-sighted.

[@maghost_rider5698]

Its interesting watching this a lot of the issues are still around today.....

[@JB-yw8ot]

Fantastic material, but that ghastly ghastly "music" is like something from a 12th July parade. Best watched with sound off!

[@esmeephillips5888]

I shall never understand why the Republic and NI did not establish agreed policy before forming the cross-border authority which took over the GNRI lines in 1953. Stormont was dominated by landowners and businessmen who obviously thought the future belonged to cars for the well-off, buses for the rest and lorries for freight. Dublin was less anti-rail, but under Dev the country grew so impoverished that modernizing the trains was unaffordable until dieselization in the Sixties. Like Benson, there were those in Dublin who argued that Ireland could get by without a rail network if it had a system of motorways and dual carriageways. When Stormont pulled the plug on the joint board after just four years, it was a fait accompli for CIE, left with useless stubs south of the border. A great north-western wedge of the island from Derry to Sligo has been trackless for 60 years. There was nothing sectarian about Stormont's attitude: the County Down lines were ripped up years before those west of the Bann. But, as the film suggests, there was a spurious futurism and cheeseparing accountancy in the air, on both sides of the Irish sea. They blended to stigmatize trains as outdated and inflexible, cars as liberators and- who knows?- personal helicopters and jetpacks as the next big thing. All that said, when one looks at today's speed and frequency of inter- city coaches, compared with the postwar steam trains, one does not feel as much has been lost in Buggleskelly as in so many British communities under Beeching and Marple.

[@JosephDoran-wf4ms]

Nothing sectarian, They closed the Derry Dublin line, they stopped the motorway at Portadown and they put the university in Coleraine. They literally strangled Derry and the North West

[@esmeephillips5888]

@@JosephDoran-wf4ms Not to mention Craigavon. But closing the Derry Road was justifiable in the 1960s. After all, the Donegal narrow-gauge lines, Mallow-Waterford and most of the Western Rail Corridor were being axed by the Republic at the same time. Now we hear talk about restoring the Derry Road and building a new line from Sligo to Derry via Letterkenny, but in the real world IE cannot even get Tuam and Navan back on track.

[@JosephDoran-wf4ms]

@@esmeephillips5888 Craigavon didn't exist in 1964