h.it h1:t'lu tak<m a pi •Jllli r•cnt part iu tL1: n :t:la 11 H1ti1111 of thonsm1ds of acres of lho 8!cblands along the sho::;s of Lou.gh foyle arH; also the upper rca•·hes of Lough Swi!'.y. Previous to that date the t~'o Lcuglts practical!,-met. Th·e reclamation of tnis land, between 1840 and Ul50, p::ovided much of the ~round over which tr.-e llailway was subsequently huilt. Another p1·ominent member of t·he group of promotzrs was William :\-IcCo!·miL'k,. ancestor of tile famous broadcasting Parson. the Rev. Pat. McC01·mick of St. Martins in the Fields, Loadon. . .Mr. -McCorma.ck wa,s . M .P . for Derry and mayor of the city about the year 1859. The effect of the R!lilway on the main industry of the city and port of Der!·y and the Count1r of Donegal was quickly fplt. Previously most of the business was conducted hy sea in sailing shilJs as was prevalent in · those day$, but the mo:·e convenient and t:x:Peditious ti'anspon by rail ve:·y soon ousted many of these as it did also th~ horse-orawa road transpo!'t of that .time. It also had the advant:ll.(e of giving a better se:·- vice for t li(! fishing industry, \Vhich was of comidea-ble imc;o:·tancc in these days, and it is on record th_at in the early aays of. the Company the:·c was a ccnsidera•ble Jiusiness i :; t he t.!·ansi~ ort of whale · Ii; ub bet· brou~ht into Lough Swilly by whalers from the A~·ctic seas. Th~ Rai lwa\· .was extended a yea:· :ater f~·orn Farland Point to Bunc!·ana. whit~h was then a fisll in.i?: villas:e and seaport of ~om~ import;ince; Lough Swilly 407. ;.it that t.ime wus an uuxiliary Na;,·a! B:.isc \v<'\ere :;hips of .I.he Brit;sh Revenue ~e ._ vi<:e were pe::1m.111c1 11ly st alioncct. no doubt fo:- thf' l)Ul'l)OS{> Of ureventing smuggling and the iliega'.. activities uf ~.muggler~. s.::i pr:o·fal~n ~. in that by-gone age. Some years afte"· the Railway C', _npan_v wus established sil~f' ping sen·i1'-zs wirhin Lough Swilly we:-c introduced under the Company's control and this gave ccnnections for goods and pass-engers to and L·om the Eastern side of J.,ough Swilly across to _the small ports on the Western side rhiefly Rathmul- !an. Ramdton and Lette!'kenny. At .that time Lougll ~Swi!ly · was an important anch::m:.;e for c::ean going ~aumg vessels, many of which traded into American ports. .Abou:l. 1860 a .E·E,para t~ c'.J!mpa.ny was promoted to run. what was then known as the Letterkenny Railway. A good deal of preliminary work went inta· the effort, but the project came to nothing, and in 1879 it was taken over by the Ldugh Swilly Company whid:: four years later extended its services to Letterkenny. Until the') the Swirly system was run as a broad guage railway. On the h .,;:-; companies merging, it was conve1ted to narrow ,guage in 1885. The line was extended from Buncrana to Carndonagh · (18 miles) in 1901, and in 1903 from Letterkenny to Burtonport (50 miles) . Til.is brought the ktal mileage of the cnti:e raeway up· t.o apprax~mately JOO miles. The Bui· tonJ •o:·t extens•on ran tt1::cugh the rugged, rnehy mountainou5 ..country of <i'le
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQxNzU3