The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway

In April 2023 we stayed close to Burtonport, adjacent to Loch Meela, in Co. Donegal. On the first full day of our stay, we walked the Burtonport Old Railway Walk. A 6km length of the Burtonport extension of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway has been made into an accessible path. The weather was great and the walk very enjoyable. We were impressed by the investment in the walk made by the local community and Donegal County Council.


The original line ran from Derry to Letterkenny and was later extended to Burtonport. ...


http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/04/2...-the-londonderry-lough-swilly-railway-part-1/

 

I believe that my Great-great Grandfather, Alexander Lindsay (a former Mayor of Derry), was the same as the Alexander Lindsay who was one of the original Board of Directors of the Lough Swilly. It would explain how Granny held shares until the buyout in the 1980's.
(Notice my avatar!)
Pat

 

This is the second length of the Burtonport Extension which takes us as far as Cashelnagor. ....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/05/0...-the-londonderry-lough-swilly-railway-part-2/

 

This is the third length of the L&LSR. It covers the length from Cashelnagor to Barnes Gap. .... It includes what was the most significant structure on the line ... the Owencarrow Viaduct. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/06/2...-londonderry-amp-lough-swilly-railway-part-3/

 

This next linked article covers the remaining length of the Burtonport Extension Railway from Barnes Gap to Letterkenny. ....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2023/07/1...lly-railway-part-4-barnes-gap-to-letterkenny/

 

In April/May 2024 we spent time in Co. Donegal again. Our intention was to walk as much as possible of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly trackbed as we could between Letterkenny and Derry and the branch to Cardonagh.

We were frustrated by contacting COVID at the very beginning of our holiday and recovery was slow!

Walking any distance at all was impossible for both of us.

I was, however, able to start work on the first of these articles about these lines.

This is the first article: ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/05/16/the-lough-swilly-railway-continued-letterkenny-to-derry-part-1/

 

Sorry to hear about your COVID troubles. Nevertheless an interesting read, thank you for posting

 

A further article in an ongoing series about the L&LSR in Co. Donegal. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/05/27/the-lough-swilly-railway-continued-letterkenny-to-derry-part-2/

 

The L&LSR once again - a perspective from the 19th century! - The Railway Magazine, November 1899.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/09/1...h-century-the-railway-magazine-november-1899/

The November 1899 edition of The Railway Magazine carried a short article about the L&LSR which was not heavy on technical detail. It mostly reads as though it were a holiday brochure rather than an article in a railway journal. None-the-less, the article is still of interest, particularly for the fact that it was written during the period when the L&LSR was expanding.

 

Attached is an extract from The Fair Hills of Ireland by Stephen Gwynn, describing his first journey on the Burtonport Extension after he returned from the Klondike gold rush. The trip starts at the bottom of the first page. He wasn't over- impressed.

Klondike_LLSR.pdf