Ballymacarrett Junction

Ballymacarrett Junction was a railway switching point on the Belfast and County Down Railway in the Ballymacarrett area of Eastern Belfast, in modern-day Northern Ireland.[1] It was located near the present-day Titanic Quarter railway station.

Ballymacarrett Junction
Overview
LocaleBallymacarrett, Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland
Coordinates54°36′06″N 5°54′30″W
Connecting lines
  • Queen's Quay to Bangor * Queen's Quay to Comber * Belfast Central to Bangor
Operation
Opened1850 (1850)
Closed1994
Technical
Track gauge5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)

History

The first track, built around 1848, ran from Belfast Queen's Quay to Holywood. On 6 May 1850, the area became a junction, curving Southeast to Dundonald to become part of the main line of the BCDR.

In 1871, another spur came in from the South to the West end of the junction, constituting the Belfast Central Railway connection. The junction continued with this basic configuration for nearly 80 years. On 13 May, while the junction was under construction, an accident occurred, killing two passengers.

On 10 January 1945, an accident took place on the Bangor line, about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) East of the junction resulting in 22 fatalities and 27 injuries.[2] The accident is blamed on a combination of excess speed and poor visibility.[2]

On 22 April 1950, the main line spur to the East was closed for revenue service, and in the same year, the Newcastle route was closed.[1]

On 10 April 1976, revenue service ceased at Queen's Quay. Instead, services ran from the new Belfast Central station to Bangor. Today, this route from Belfast to Bangor is the only existing operative line over the former Belfast and County Down Railway.[3]

The Titanic Quarter stop was added 9 May 1977, known at the time as Bridge End.

In 1994, the original Northern entrance on the west end that connected to Queen's Quay was removed due to the decommissioning of its maintenance area.

Notes
  1. "Ballymacarrett Junction". www.signalbox.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. "Accident at Ballymacarrett Junction on 10th January 1945 :: The Railways Archive". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  3. "Belfast - Bangor by rail | Getting Around | Belfast". www.inyourpocket.com. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
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