Finn Valley Railway
The Finn Valley Railway (FVR) was a 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge railway in Ireland.
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| Stations called at | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Headquarters | Stranorlar, Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reporting mark | FVR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | County Donegal, County Tyrone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates of operation | October 1, 1863–1892 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Donegal Railway Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous gauge | 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) (Irish gauge) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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History
Incorporation
The Finn Valley Railway Company was incorporated on 15 May 1860 with capital of £60,000 (equivalent to £6,000,000 in 2021).[1]
Personnel
The Chairman of the directors was The 4th Viscount Lifford, whose seat was Meenglass Castle, just south-east of Ballybofey, and the Deputy-Chairman was James Thompson Macky of the Bank of Ireland in Derry.[2]
The other directors were:
- Robert Collum, 1 Chester Place, Hyde Park Square, London
- Edward Hunter, The Glebe, Blackheath, Kent
- Maurice Ceely Maude, Lenaghan, Enniskillen
- Sir Samuel Hercules Hayes, 4th Baronet, Leuaghan, Stranorlar
- Robert Russell, Salthill, Mountcharles
- Major Humphreys, Milltown House, Strabane
The other offices of the company were:
- James Alex Ledlie, Stranorlar, Secretary
- Peter W. Barlow, 26 Great George Street, Westminster, Consulting Engineer
- John Bower, Engineer
Opening
A 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge rail line between Stranorlar and Strabane was opened on 1 October 1863.
Operation
The directors entered into a contract with the Irish North Western Railway to work the line for a period of 10 years. This company became amalgamated with the Great Northern Railway (Ireland)[3] in 1876.
Merger and gauge conversion
In 1892, the line merged with the West Donegal Railway into a new company, the Donegal Railway Company. The line from Stranorlar to Strabane was reconstructed to (3 ft (914 mm)) gauge shortly afterwards.
Footnotes
- UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- Bradshaw's railway manual, shareholders' guide, and official directory. W. J. Adams, 1864
- The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland, William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Dept. of the Environment, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984