Click on any picture to view a larger version

The Station building is an original cut stone Great Northern Railway Station, which served Belturbet from October 1885 until its closure in March 1959. This is the only station designed by the architect Mills to be built entirely of cut stone on the GNR system, and one of its very few Grade 1 buildings. The GNR graded their stations Grade 1, 2 or 3. Malahide station in Co Dublin is similar in design to Belturbet Station, but, in contrast, it is built entirely of brick. The stone used to build our station was sourced locally from the River Erne.

The GNR terminated in Belturbet on a short branch line from Ballyhaise, which was a junction on the Clones to Cavan line.
The Cavan & Leitrim Railway, which came from Dromod in Co Leitrim, shared the station at Belturbet with the Great Northern Railway.

GNR Railway Map

GNR at Belturbet: JT Class No. 90
arrives on 26 May 1955 with the 1.50pm train from Ballyhaise. The signalman,
Bertie Palmer, has his arms outstretched
to collect the single line staff from the fireman, Jim Rogers.

Neil Sprinks. From “The Cavan & Leitrim Railway” by Tom Ferris & Patrick Flanagan

GNR trains on the Belturbet branch were often mixed: passengers, goods, cattle, etc. Regular performers on the line, right up to its closure, were the little JT 2-4-2 tanks. One of these, No. 91, moves towards the headshunt to run round its train.

Rev. John Parker / Hugh David. From “The Cavan & Leitrim Railway” by Tom Ferris & Patrick Flanagan

No. 107 waits at Belturbet with a return service to Ballyhaise. The narrow gauge line came into the other end of the station on the right hand side of the platform beyond the splendid train shed

Gerry Douglas / Chris Banks.
From
“Irish Railways in Colour 1955-1967”
by Tom Ferris

Map of Cavan & Leitrim Railway System. From “The Cavan & Leitrim Railway” by Tom Ferris & Patrick Flanagan

Whereas the GNR operated on standard or broad gauge tracks - 5ft 3in, the Cavan & Leitrim Railway ran on narrow gauge tracks measuring 3ft. This difference in gauge caused difficulties at Belturbet in facilitating the transfer of passengers, goods and livestock, but especially the transhipment of Arigna coal from the C&L to the GNR. This arduous and dirty task was performed throughout the entire history of the line by local men using only shovels.

Because Belturbet Station played host to these two very different railway companies, we have a variety of interesting buildings on our site. The majority of buildings were constructed and owned by the GNR. These include the main station building, the Stationmaster’s House, which adjoins the station, the GNR Goods Store, which we have restored and converted into a multipurpose meeting venue, the original water tower to the rear of the site, and the GNR Engine Shed. The Transhipment Shed, which was used for the transfer of goods between the two companies, has also recently been restored. At the western approach to the station stands the Cavan & Leitrim Goods Shed. The Cavan & Leitrim Stationmaster’s House is also still in use nearby as a family home.

The main station building comprised a reception area and public waiting room, where a fire would have been lit in the hearth on cold days. The dividing wall has been removed here to form one large reception hall. Also in the building were the stationmaster’s and ticket offices, ladies and gentlemen’s toilets, and a separate ladies waiting room.

Belturbet Station was a lively place in its prime and all sorts of traffic used the railways, because they represented the most practial and amenable mode of public transport available at that time. Passengers also used the railways to escape from their daily grind, whether on a family daytrip to Bundoran or a trip for Gaelic fans off to Clones on a football special for the Ulster Final on a July Sunday. Commercial and freight goods were transported nationwide. Goods hitherto unavailable in Belturbet also made their way into the area via the railways. Livestock, which changed hands at the local market, was shipped all over from Belturbet Station.

When the last train ran on 31 March 1959 the station closed its doors to the public. It remained empty and derelict for 40 years, during which time it was used by a local farmer to shelter cattle.

Architect’s plan of the site restoration

This was the condition of the building when it was purchased by Belturbet Community Development Association in 1995.

Passenger Fares on GNR, from GNR(I) Timetables

Report on the last day of the Cavan & Leitrim Railway from the Anglo Celt newspaper, Saturday 04 April 1959

It was given a new lease of life when Belturbet Community Development Association bought the 10-acre site in June 1995 and initiated this ambitious restoration and tourism development project.