J3979 : Holywood station, Northern Ireland Railways

taken 18 years ago, near to Holywood, Co Down, Northern Ireland

Holywood station, Northern Ireland Railways
Holywood station, Northern Ireland Railways
Holywood is the only “real” town on the railway between Belfast and Bangor – the other stations serve suburbs. The station is separated from the town centre by a dual carriageway built in the early 70’s. There are not many passengers in the off-peak periods. This is the 20.05 Bangor to Belfast Gt. Victoria Street.
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

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J3979, 343 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Friday, 15 September, 2006   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 15 September, 2006
Category
Railway station   (more nearby)
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 39 79 [1000m precision]
WGS84: 54:38.6612N 5:50.3904W
View Direction
Southwest (about 225 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph (Second Visitor for J3979)
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