The 'Big Three' Railways of Belfast

[@susancraig3966]

Very informative. Shame the impressive stations have gone.

[@thomasfannon652]

I remember the Queens Quay station and Great Victoria st station. I have a nice watercolour print of the station from the late forties

[@nigelwhiteside3060]

Have just discovered your videos. Fantastic !!!

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

Thanks Nigel, that means a lot

[@anoniaino]

Great video. Very high quality. It really is a tragedy that none of the old station buildings remain. I’m actually in the process of making a railway history video for Belfast which should be finished soon.

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

I'll keep an eye out for that!

[@lorlabear]

You may be interested to know that the Ann Street subway sign, directing people to the closed Queens Quay station, has finally made its way to the Whitehead Railway Museum, and is on display there!

[@ClaireScarrott258]

I enjoyed this, having used trains in Belfast and NI on visits to the province. Thank you 👍❤

[@jimlowry8164]

Best one yet Richard. What a tragic story of shortsightedness and lack of investment. Unfortunately I remember all of those stations well !

[@groover5524]

Great video . I remember these stations from when I was a kid in the 60's .They were well past their prime and very draughty . Those diesel units on the Bangor line were terrible by then . The jolt every time they changed gear ! Guess they must have seemed great when new . Never liked the trek across the bridge from Queens Quay just to get into the city centre . The line link up was the best thing to have happened to the system for nearly 100 years . The line closures the worst .

[@RailsandSky]

Very informative and interesting. Some aspects take me back to my youth,

[@eddiesterling5705]

Hi, Richard, Eddie Sterling from Carrickfergus. I have always been intrigued by the fact that Carrick station has two handrails descending from Platform 2 - at different heights. One is for adults, the other for children (or people of, ahem, a shorter stature). I have never come across that before. The station has been finely restored, with, besides a fresh coat of paint, a new staircase to the signal cabin (built of the finest Belfast brick). I have glimpsed inside the cabin, and everything is intact. Perhaps you could gain access to it, and do a short vid on the station. I look forward to your reply.

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

Translink are a bit funny about people filming on their property Eddie, so it might be a challenge. But it's one of my favourites so I'd definitely like to do it at some point. And I'll keep an eye out for the handrails!

[@markwringe2826]

I noticed in one of the old photos (I'm guessing it was the interior of the original York Road) the 'font' used for the platform numbers seems familiar, seen in use by NIR today, a nice gesture. My first experience of NIR was in the early 80s, and York Road then was a truly miserable experience. Things are so much better now - unless you want to travel by rail between Glasgow and Belfast, where major changes on the Scottish side make it almost impossible.

[@harri2626]

A good summary of the complex history of Belfast's railways.

[@hughofIreland]

Excellent video; thanks for sharing.

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

@@hughofIreland thanks Hugh

[@mikedrown2721]

I enjoyed this video Richard, thanks for posting 👍😊♥️🇺🇸

[@josephryan5949]

Very interesting channel. The rail network never seems to stand still for long. Amazed with the new Grand Central Station, and the speed of it's construction. When the trains are up and running , it would be interesting to hear your views on it. There will definitely be a little confusion for a time, with Central (Lanyon) and Grand Central.

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

I was there on the first day of trains running and they let me duck behind the barriers for a bit of filming. It's a great symbol of confidence in Belfast but I do wonder at its location. If the Glider can pick people up outside and loop them back into the city centre then...

[@eamonnca1]

Great stuff

[@dctechafrica4317]

Do you have any pictures or information on the line that went through Trew & Moy, 1960s

[@Whizzy-jx3qe]

Ironically Newcastle was served by two companies The BCDR and The GNR they closed both. They could’ve kept one open.

[@thomasburke2683]

Whizzy, The section between Newcastle and Castlewellan belonged to the BCDR, although the trains which ran on it were possibly all GNR. Of course it was outrageous to close the BCDR network apart from the Bangor line, as early as 1950 but the rail route was much longer than the road. As for the GN route from Scarva, it's only amazing that it lasted as long as it did. Funnily enough, I took a bus recently from Belfast to Ballynahinch, I was the only passenger on board. I have no idea whether other people boarded for the rest of the trip to Newcastle. Of course if it was a sunny day in summer, the bus might have been full.

[@likklej8]

Are there any heritage railways in Northern Ireland or any old narrow gauge like old Tralee and Dingle in the South? Great videos thanks.

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

Yeah we have the Downpatrick and County Down Railway up here that uses a short section of the old Belfast and Co Down Railway . T have a museum as well. Worth a visit

[@likklej8]

@@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262 Thank you kindly for replying will look at that line so have a great Christmas

[@joshuaW5621]

@@likklej8the Giants Causeway Tramway is also preserved as far as Bushmills.

[@jimcrawford5039]

The GNR ran to Londonderry as well.

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

I've since learned that Jim!