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Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway

 

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Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway



 
 
The Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) ran from Enniskillen
Enniskillen

Enniskillen is the county town in County Fermanagh. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne....
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh , is the westernmost of the six counties that form Northern Ireland, and is part of the Province of Ulster. Fermanagh is often referred to as Ireland's Lake District, together with neighbouring County Cavan....
 to junctions with the Midland Great Western Railway
Midland Great Western Railway

The Midland Great Western Railway main line extended from Broadstone, Dublin in Dublin to the Midlands, and onwards to Galway and Clifden in what is now the Republic of Ireland....
 (MGWR) and the Great Southern and Western Railway
Great Southern and Western Railway

The Great Southern and Western Railway was one of the main railway operations in Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company was the largest of Ireland's "Big Four" railway operators, buying up smaller operations and expanding its route mileage for much of its existence....
 near Collooney
Collooney

Collooney...
, County Sligo
County Sligo

County Sligo is a county in the provinces of Ireland of Connacht in the west of Republic of Ireland....
, some 49 miles (78 km) standard gauge. It was incorporated in 1875 and opened in sections between 1879 and 1882. It was the last privately-owned railway undertaking to survive in Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, although the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway
Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway

The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company is an Ireland public transport and freight firm, incorporated in June 1853. Despite the company's name, it does not operate any railway services, its last railway line having closed in July 1953....
 still exists as a road transport firm.

In 1878 a stationmaster’s house and six houses were built for railways workers and their families at Belcoo
Belcoo

Belcoo is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, 12 miles from Enniskillen. It is situated on the Fermanagh/County Cavan border beside the village of Blacklion in the Republic of Ireland....
, County Fermanagh and the following year the line opened with Belcoo station serving both Belcoo and Blacklion
Blacklion

Blacklion is a Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border village in west County Cavan, in Republic of Ireland. It is situated on the N16 road national primary road at the County Cavan/County Fermanagh border beside the village of Belcoo in Northern Ireland....
, County Cavan
County Cavan

File:Loughter.JPGCounty Cavan is a county in Republic of Ireland....
.






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The Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) ran from Enniskillen
Enniskillen

Enniskillen is the county town in County Fermanagh. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne....
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh , is the westernmost of the six counties that form Northern Ireland, and is part of the Province of Ulster. Fermanagh is often referred to as Ireland's Lake District, together with neighbouring County Cavan....
 to junctions with the Midland Great Western Railway
Midland Great Western Railway

The Midland Great Western Railway main line extended from Broadstone, Dublin in Dublin to the Midlands, and onwards to Galway and Clifden in what is now the Republic of Ireland....
 (MGWR) and the Great Southern and Western Railway
Great Southern and Western Railway

The Great Southern and Western Railway was one of the main railway operations in Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company was the largest of Ireland's "Big Four" railway operators, buying up smaller operations and expanding its route mileage for much of its existence....
 near Collooney
Collooney

Collooney...
, County Sligo
County Sligo

County Sligo is a county in the provinces of Ireland of Connacht in the west of Republic of Ireland....
, some 49 miles (78 km) standard gauge. It was incorporated in 1875 and opened in sections between 1879 and 1882. It was the last privately-owned railway undertaking to survive in Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, although the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway
Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway

The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company is an Ireland public transport and freight firm, incorporated in June 1853. Despite the company's name, it does not operate any railway services, its last railway line having closed in July 1953....
 still exists as a road transport firm.

In 1878 a stationmaster’s house and six houses were built for railways workers and their families at Belcoo
Belcoo

Belcoo is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, 12 miles from Enniskillen. It is situated on the Fermanagh/County Cavan border beside the village of Blacklion in the Republic of Ireland....
, County Fermanagh and the following year the line opened with Belcoo station serving both Belcoo and Blacklion
Blacklion

Blacklion is a Republic of Ireland-United Kingdom border village in west County Cavan, in Republic of Ireland. It is situated on the N16 road national primary road at the County Cavan/County Fermanagh border beside the village of Belcoo in Northern Ireland....
, County Cavan
County Cavan

File:Loughter.JPGCounty Cavan is a county in Republic of Ireland....
. The last trains ran through the station on 20 September 1957.

The SLNCR was one of the railways not to be absorbed into the state-owned system in 1925 since it crossed the border between Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
 and the Republic
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
 (then the Irish Free State
Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
). The locomotives of the Railway had names, but were not numbered. The Railway was a pioneer in the use of railbuses.

The undertaking was never prosperous since the countryside it crossed was poor and sparsely populated, although at one time intermittent heavy cattle traffic used the line. In spite of subsidies being given by both Governments in its last days, the SLNCR finally closed on 1 October 1957 as a direct result of the Government of Northern Ireland
Government of Northern Ireland

A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland.* The Executive Committee * The Northern Ireland Executive * The Northern Ireland Executive under the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, created in the Belfast Agreement ...
 ordering closure of the railway line through Enniskillen
Enniskillen

Enniskillen is the county town in County Fermanagh. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne....
.

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