When asked to name one of the historic railway companies to serve Belfast, chances are people will name the Great Northern Railway, the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway (later the Northern Counties Committee of the LMS) and the Belfast & County Down Railway. And while these certainly were the ‘big three’ as it were, there was a fourth company that operated alongside these concerns for a number of years, one whose tracks form the central nerve of Belfast’s railway network today. This was the Belfast Central Railway, which opened 150 years ago, on 4th August, 1874, initially for goods traffic, with passenger services commencing in 1878.
Connecting Belfast’s Railways
The purpose of the Belfast Central Railway was to connect the lines of the three mainlines serving the city (the Ulster Railway, the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway, and the Belfast & County Down Railway), who each operated out of their own independent termini at Great Victoria Street, York Road and Queen’s Quay respectively. It left the Ulster Railway’s line to Portadown (and thence, Dublin) at the quite simply named Ulster Junction (later Central Junction) to a terminus at Queen’s Bridge, with passenger trains running from this terminus to the Adelaide on what was by then the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) mainline. Intermediate stations were located at Ormeau and Windsor. There was also a branch from East Bridge Street Junction to meet the Belfast & County Down Railway at Ballymacarrett Junction. This included an eight-span wooden bridge over the River Lagan, which would go on to become known as the 'Shakey Bridge' (we'll let you guess why).
The proposed connection to the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway system was not ultimately built as envisaged, though a tunnel was established to link with the dock lines of Belfast port at Donegal Quay; by extension this connected the BCR to the BNCR network.
The Belfast Central Railway Fleet
Belfast Central Railway No.3, a tank engine built by Beyer Peacock. Similar locomotives were later purchased for use in Australia. Photo: State Library of South Australia, B 68674.
Unlike other ‘link railways’ in Ireland, such as the City of Dublin Junction Railway and the Cork City Railways, the Belfast Central Railway actually owned its own locomotives and rolling stock and operated services in its own right (whereas in Dublin and Cork such lines were operated by other railway companies). It’s motive power consisted of five tank engines of varying build and wheel arrangement, sadly neither these nor their carriages survived into preservation, leaving the company unrepesented in railway museum collections.
A Short-lived Railway
Unfortunately, the Belfast Central Railway was never a particularly profitable concern, and its existence would prove to be shortlived. In 1885 it was taken over the the GNR would soon ended its passenger services. However, the line did remain in use for goods traffic, while also being an important artery for excursion traffic through to the Co Down network well into the 1960s, with some of its last regular passenger trains before closure being through excursions from Lisburn to Bangor. Weight restrictions on the bridge over the Lagan meant that these trains were generally hauled by smaller steam engines, though CIÉ diesel locomotives are known to have worked specials from Dublin and other locations over the route.
Closure and Revival of the Former Belfast Central Railway
The route of the former Belfast Central Railway ‘mainline’ closed by the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1965 and was dismantled shortly after (the link to Donegal Quay had already closed in 1963).
1976 would see the line reopening for daily passenger services when Northern Ireland Railways opened the Belfast Central Station (now Belfast Lanyon Place) on the line, with Dublin and Bangor line trains now using the terminus. Intermediate stations have been opened at Botanic and City Hospital, and the line remains an important part of Northern Ireland’s railway network. This autumn will see it connected to the new Belfast Grand Central Station and act as the thoroughfare through which Belfast, Larne, Portrush and Derry-Londonderry trains access the station. Not bad for a relatively obscure and shortlived railway from the 1870s. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine how Belfast would do without it.
Part of the former Belfast Central Railway route today, with the modern bridge over the Lagan visible in the background. Photo: Táilte Tours Collection.
For more information on the complex (and often fraught) history of the Belfast Central Railway, we thoroughly recommend Robert Phipps’ book The Adventures of ‘A Fighting Railway: The Belfast Central Railway Company (1864 - 1885). Why is called a ‘fighting railway’? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out…
More info on the history of Belfast’s railway termini can be found in our earlier article: A virtual tour of Belfast’s terminus railway stations, past & present. The excursion trains that used the Belfast Central line until the 1960s are covered in our article, More historic Irish excursion and tourist trains.
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