Bawnboy and Templeport
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| Cavan and Leitrim Railway |
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The building of the Narrow Gauge Railway which was called the ‘Cavan and Leitrim’ or ‘C and L’ was an important event for Templeport parish. Bawnboy and Ballymagauran were noted for their fairs, and the coming of the railway eased greatly not alone the travel problems of the dealers but provided transport for cattle to every corner of the country. C and L joined Dublin-Sligo line at Dromod and the Northern Railways at Belturbet. It opened up the country not just for business people but for sport, pleasure and social activities.
In July 1887 two gangs of men working in opposite directions from Belturbet and Ballinamore met at Killyran, having completed the railway link between Cavan and Leitrim. Shortly afterwards the first train made the run from Belturbet to Ballinamore. A railway station was built in the centre on Templeport parish in the townland of Cloneary. Naming the station was a problem. The first name decided upon was ‘Templeport – for Bawnboy and Swanlinbar’. The Clerk of the Union, Bawnboy, acting on instructions wrote to the Railway Company, informing them that the name should be ‘Bawnboy Road’. The official name then decided upon was ‘Bawnboy Road and Templeport’, although most people used only the first two words in the name. Trains could also be boarded at Bellaheady and Killyran.
There were a few accidents on the railway – one at Bellaheady where a trickster interfered with the signals and caused the train to crash through the gates. Another accident occurred on 29th June 1957, the evening of the Templeport Show in Murray’s field, Kilnavart. News of the accident reached the show grounds in the evening. George Gott, who was at the show went immediately on his bicycle to Bawnboy Road railway station where he saw a group of men working on the railway line. The train had left the line and the engine had ploughed into a siding before it came to a halt. The men worked all day, on Sunday, getting the sleepers back into place and the rails secured in position.
George witnessed another accident on the line close to his own home. He was standing within a few feet of the rails at the time. He remembers that a wagon load of turf broke away from the end of the train, just after it had passed him and smashed into a hollow close to the railway line. Fortunately, no one was hurt in these accidents. There were, however, two or three fatal accidents on the line. Paddy O’Dowd, Kildorragh, Ballinamore who was taking a cart load of hay across the line which ran through his own land, was struck by the train and died in hospital two weeks later. A girl who was sitting on the load of hay escaped serious injury. The horse had to be put down.
Two of the Directors of the ‘C and L’ were R.H. Johnstone, J.P., Bawnboy and V.E. Hunt, J.P., Owendoon. There was general agreement to the suggestion that the train engines be named after the daughters of the directors, and so one engine bore a Bawnboy name, Isabel.
Stationmasters at Bawnboy Road were Thomas Graham in the 1890s, Andrew Elliott in the 1900s and Messrs. Cook, McHale, Delemere and a young man Hugh McPartlin, Ballinamore, who was there when the line closed on 31st March 1959. Many people celebrated the closing by travelling on the last train in their area. People came from as far away as Galway City to make the historic trip but children and teenagers, in particular, enjoyed it.
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Last update: 27 February, 2009 14:09 |