Jump to content

Portrush railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 86.147.52.85 (talk) at 12:28, 9 August 2010 (History). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Portrush
General information
LocationColeraine
Platforms1
Key dates
1855Opened
2008Station refurbished

Portrush railway station is the terminus of the Northern Ireland Railways Coleraine-Portrush line serving the seaside town of Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

History

The station in the 1890s, with tramway in foreground

The station, which is 67¾ miles from Belfast, was opened on 4 December 1855.[1] To accommodate excursion and holiday traffic, extensive reconstruction by the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, under the direction of its engineer and architect Berkeley Deane Wise, was completed in 1893. Three platforms were provided (only one is now in regular use) together with a train shed (demolished) and a station building in a "half-timbered" Mock Tudor style with a clock tower, described by Currie as "certainly one of the most handsome railway buildings in Ireland";[2] it is now occupied by the Traks nightclub complex,[3] with a small newer concrete block ticket office behind it serving as the current station building. Goods traffic to the station closed on 20 September 1954.[1]

The large 1892 grandfather clock from the station was returned to Portrush in 2007 and is displayed in Barry’s Amusements complex[4] adjacent to the station. Other survivals from the past are some semaphore signals (of the "somersault" type) and an early water tank.

Formerly the railway owned the Northern Counties Hotel, the principal such establishment in town. A line once continued beyond the station to serve the harbour, and the Giant's Causeway Tramway began in Eglinton Street alongside the station. =D

Service

Mondays to Saturdays there is an hourly service to Coleraine with extra services at peak times Operated by Northern Ireland Railways. There are also some services which extend to Belfast Great Victora Street. On Sundays there is a two hourly service.

References

  1. ^ a b "Portrush station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  2. ^ Currie, J. R. L. (1973). The Northern Counties Railway, vol. 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5934-7.
  3. ^ "Club soi". Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  4. ^ "Barry's Portrush". Retrieved 2007-07-22.

Template:NIRRail start |- | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"| Dhu Varren | style="background:#0072BC; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top:solid 1px #aaa; border-bottom:0px none;" | Northern Ireland Railways
Coleraine-Portrush | style="background:#0072BC; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 0px none; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"|Terminus |}