Kilfree Junction railway station

Kilfree Junction is a former station in County Sligo and was located on the Sligo line in the townland of Cloontycarn between Boyle and Ballymote about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the track summit though the Curlew Mountains. It enabled connections on the branch line to Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. The junction faced Ballymote and Sligo station and was a trailing junction in the Boyle and Dublin Connolly direction requiring a reversal. The station was not located near any significant settlement, the nearest, Gorteen in County Sligo being over 6 km away.

Kilfree Junction
Iarnród Éireann
General information
LocationIreland
Coordinates53.992°N 8.441°W / 53.992; -8.441
Distance112.5 mils (2.86×10−6 km)[1]
Platforms3
History
Opened1874
Closed1963
Original companySligo and Ballaghaderreen Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Great Western Railway
Pre-nationalisationGreat Southern Railways
Services
  Former services  
Boyle   Dublin-Sligo   Ballymote
Disused railways
Terminus   Ballaghaderreen branch   Island Road
Location
Ballaghaderreen branch line
Dublin–Sligo line
to Ballymote and Sligo
 Kilfree Junction
Dublin–Sligo line
to Boyle and Dublin
Island Road
 Edmondstown
 Ballaghaderreen

The station had three platforms: two served a passing loop on the main line and the third was used by the branch line. All main line trains usually used the island platform for easier transfers to the branch line. The station had sidings and turntable for turning round engines coming up from the branch line together with a loop for running the branch line train. There was a signal box and a house for the station master.[1]

History

This railway station opened by the Sligo and Ballaghderreen Railway on 31 October 1874, becoming part of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) in 1877.[2][3][4]

The MGWR was joined with other railways companies to form Great Southern Railway company in 1924 and with a further merger in 1925 the station came under Great Southern Railways.

The station closed on 4 February 1963 with the closure of the branch line. The last passenger train back to Ballaghaderreen at 13:00 set off a large number of denotators set on the track to mark the departure.[4]

The passing loop has since been removed leaving the main line as single track. Only part of the island platform and the station masters' house remain. The embankment of the branch line is still visible from trains passing on the main line.

Etymology

Kilfree is the name of the civil parish covering both the location of Kilfree Junction and the area in County Sligo the branch line ran through. Kilfree is also the name of the townland where the parish church once stood, the townland location is near the R293 road some way from both Kilfree Junction and the route of the branch line.[5][6]

Incidents

Kilfree Junction was the scene of several incidents in the Irish War of Independence including carriages containing members of the British Army being shot at and Royal Irish Constabulary officers being overpowered and disarmed in January 1921.[7]

On or about 8:00 am in June 1956 a freight train approaching downhill from Dublin North Wall to Sligo failed to halt at the signal box as directed and crashed through buffers at the end of a siding. The body of the year old diesel-electric locomotive A44 sheered off from the bogies, somersaulting three times over 25 yards and ending up 50 feet below on the mainline. The driver escaped with minor injuries and was discharged from hospital after one day. The 12 wagons were wrecked and contents spread over a large area. A cargo of gelignite was dealt with first, and cargo of carbide marked Dangerous when dry was handled next. The fate of remaining cargo including whiskey and stout does not appear to be recorded. Breakdown crews from Dublin, Galway and Athlone were rapidly on the scene with a breakdown crane and the wreckage quickly cleared.[8][9] Locomotive A44 was subsequently repaired and returned to service.[10]

References
  1. "THE BALLAGHADERREEN BRANCH". Irish Failfan News. 7 (3): 14–16. July 1961. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  2. "Kilfree" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  3. "Railways of Roscommon". Ask about Ireland. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  4. "Railway Closures February 1963 - from Irish Railfans' News - Kilfree Junction- Ballaghaderreen". Irish Railway News. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. Lewis, Samuel (1837). "Kilfree". A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. S.Lewis & Co. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  6. "Name of Parish and something of its history". Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  7. Farry, Michael (2014). "A strange thing happened on the way to the dance: An encounter in Sligo between two military men" (PDF). THE CORRAN HERALD. No. 46. Ballymote heritage group. pp. 10–13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  8. "Diesel Locomotives and Wagons Wrecked". Irish Independent. 23 June 1956.
  9. "Thread: Rail Disasters of Ireland". 3 February 2013. #76. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  10. "Crash at 46 Mile Box". Irish Railway News. 17 (2). May 1971.
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