Boyne Valley To Lakelands Greenway
Sections
The completed sections link Navan's Blackwater Park to Kilmainhamwood, through Kilberry, Wilkinstown, Castletown KP, and Nobber.
History
The branch line that the greenway was built on was authorised for construction by the Navan and Kingscourt Railway Co. on 5 July 1865, and would reach as far as Kilmainhamwood on 1 November 1872. It would open to its final terminus at Kingscourt on 1 November 1875, but it was hoped the line could be extended further north. The Kingscourt, Keady and Armagh Railway Co. was incorporated in 1900 to extend the railway, but the section between Kingscourt and Castleblayney was abandoned in 1902. The Midland Great Western Railway (who had acquired the line in 1888) would be authorised to complete the line to Castleblayney on 11 August 1903, but it would ultimately never occur.
The line would find its primary source of traffic with the opening of a siding in 1939 at Kingscourt to allow trains to haul Kingscourt Gypsum. Passenger service on the line would be discontinued during the harsh winter of 1947 on 27 January and never reopen. The line would stop seeing non-gypsum traffic in 1975 and would ultimately close on 30 October 2001 after a driver's strike as gypsum switched to road haulage.
References
- ^ "Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway | Discover Boyne Valley Meath, Ireland". DiscoverBoyneValley.ie.
- ^ "Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway" (PDF). DiscoverBoyneValley.ie. 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Official Opening of the Boyne to Lakelands Greenway between Nobber and Kilmainhamwood". Meath.ie. 31 October 2023.
- ^ Hogan, Laura (12 May 2024). "30km greenway connecting Meath and Cavan completed". RTÉ News.
- ^ "24km of Boyne to Lakelands Greenway is now open". Meath Chronicle. 1 December 2023.
- ^ ""A true delight": Opening of 30km Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway welcomed". IrishCycle.com. 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway". Navan Cycling Initiative. 17 November 2020.
- ^ Finegan, Noelle. "Could Navan-Kingscourt Greenway attract 150,000 visitors a year?". Meath Chronicle. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Works now underway on Ireland's newest greenway as €500,000 also allocated". StickyBottle.ie. December 2021.
- ^ "Navan and Kingscourt Railway Act 1865". vLex.co.uk. 5 July 1865. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Irish railways" (PDF). RAILSCOT.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Kingscourt, Keady and Armagh Railway Act 1900". vLex.co.uk. 1900. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Castleblayney Keady and Armagh Railway Act 1902". vLex.co.uk. 22 July 1922. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Midland Great Western Railway of I Act 1903". vLex.co.uk. 11 August 1903. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Railway and Railway Stations". navanhistory.ie. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Kingscourt Line". Irish Railway Record Society. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2024.