J3979 : Railway at Holywood

taken 14 years ago, near to Holywood, Co Down, Northern Ireland

Railway at Holywood
Railway at Holywood
The 16.43 Belfast – Central has just left Holywood station and is beginning its ascent of the steep Holywood bank to Marino J4079 : Approaching Marino station. In the early 1970’s the line was moved towards Belfast Lough to allow the Holywood bypass to be built on the old alignment.
The Holywood bypass


A stretch of road opened in 1972 (and then called the Holywood through pass), on the Belfast – Bangor road, from near Palace Barracks to the Croft Road.

The Belfast – Bangor railway line

The Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR) opened its railway line from Belfast (Queen’s Quay) to Holywood on 2 August 1845. This line was extended to the seaside resort of Bangor by the Belfast Holywood & Bangor Railway (BHBR), which opened on 18 May 1865. The BCDR absorbed the BHBR in 1884.

While double-track throughout, the BCDR always regarded its Bangor line as a branch off the main line to Newcastle. However, creation of the nationalised Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1948 changed matters somewhat as only the Belfast – Bangor line survived the mass closures implemented by the UTA in 1950. The old BCDR Bangor line received a further blow in 1965 when it was isolated from the rest of the Irish railway system by closure of the Belfast Central Railway line from Ballymacarrett Junction (east of Queen’s Quay station) to Central Junction, just west of the former GNR(I) Great Victoria Street station (see: LinkExternal link ). However, on a positive note, introduction of UTA built MED railcars gave Belfast – Bangor the distinction of being the first main railway line in the British Isles to be operated solely by diesel traction.

In 1976, the Belfast Central Railway reopened as part of a project to replace both the GNR(I) Great Victoria Street station and the BCDR Queen’s Quay with a “central” station situated in east Belfast. Today (2013), Belfast – Bangor is an important part of the Northern Ireland Railways’ system, with services to Bangor originating from Portadown or the reinstated Great Victoria Street station. While diesel locomotives may occasionally visit with engineer’s trains, all passenger services are in the hands of Spanish built 3000 or 4000 class railcars.

For photographs of the former line to Newcastle, please see: LinkExternal link . For photographs at Queen's Quay station and Central Services Depot, please go to: LinkExternal link

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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J3979, 343 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Friday, 11 June, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 11 June, 2010
Category
Railway   (more nearby)
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 397 793 [100m precision]
WGS84: 54:38.5923N 5:50.1523W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 396 793
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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