The Magilligan Tramway

A few months back I received a query about the course of what was described as a railway line running to Magilligan Point. I hadn't been aware that there had been such a line and certainly there hadn't been a locomotive line. There had however been a horse drawn tramway, (standard gauge) for a very short period. It ran from the Londonderry & Coleraine Railway Company line, where Magilligan Station was ultimately constructed, to Magilligan Point with an intermediate halt at Drummond.

I would not be surprised if this tramway holds the record for the shortest lived tramway of all time. It commenced operations on 1st July 1855 and ceased on 1st October 1855. Perhaps it was anticipated that the line would attract tourists to the, "Point," and its Martello Tower and the numbers didn't materialise. Somewhat surprisingly this tramway is not mentioned in W. A. McCutcheon's, "The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland."

The Great Northern

Northern Ireland's railway network may not have had the dubious benefits of Richard Beeching's recommendations, but in common with Britain, Northern Ireland's network, (a rather grand term in the circumstances), has been severely pruned.

In the heyday of railways Londonderry had four lines running into the City. Of these all but what was the LMS line (London Midland & Scottish), have disappeared. Services on that line commenced as long ago as 1852.

I am not old enough to have seen all four lines in operation, but I do have quite vivid memories of the Great Northern Railway line at the City end of the Craigavon Bridge with its bustling Station. The Great Northern Railway Company Ireland was formed in 1876 with the merger of the Irish North Western Railway ; the Northern Railway of Ireland and the Ulster Railway. The Foyle Road station closed its doors in 1965. It did not therefore have to suffer the ignominy of welcoming diesel and electric trains.

In common with most if not all the myriad of railways which were established during the nineteenth century the, "GNR," raised funds by the issue of shares or stock. The photograph at the head of this post is of a certificate issued in 1899 in respect of a holding of its four percent preference stock.

Belfast & County Down Railway Company

The Belfast & County Down Railway Company was incorporated on 26th June 1846 and continued in operation until it was subsumed into the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in September 1948. At its peak it controlled eighty miles of line. The first section of line that was constructed was between Belfast and Holywood and it saw its first passengers on 2nd August 1848. Ultimately this line extended to Bangor. The railway's main line ran from Belfast to Newcastle. There were also branch lines to Ardglass, Ballynahinch and Ardglass. At one stage the Company operated a paddle steamer as well as buses.

The Belfast Holywood & Bangor Railway Company (BHB) was established in 1865. The Belfast & County Down Railway Company was experiencing financial pressures and as a consequence sold the Belfast - Holywood line to the BHB. However it was not long before the BHB also started to experience financial problems and in 1884 as a consequence of an Act of Parliament all the assets of the BHB were transferred to the Belfast & County Down Railway Company. The Debenture stock reflected in the certificate pictured here was issued consequent upon the 1884 Act. The Stock was charged upon the assets of the then defunct BHB.

Government Debt - How Secure?

The global financial uncertainty has caused many people to put their savings into National Savings products due to the government backed guarantee which they attract. This is not limited to the £85,000 personal and small business limit which applies to Banks and Building Societies.

It should of course be remembered that any guarantee is just as good as the person or institution giving the guarantee. A state backed guarantee is not necessarily an absolute guarantee. If one looks back to the early years of the twentieth century, Imperial Russia was raising huge sums of money in an attempt to prop up its economy. The 1913, 4.5% Bond Loan for the Armavir-Touapse Railway Company (see photo) came with, "the absolute guarantee of the Imperial Russian Government." That was of little solace to investors in 1917 when there was a repudiation of Czar - era debt. Still the colourful engraved share certificates now provide cheap wall furniture.

Scripophily - Railway History Documented

Some years ago, it must be nearly twenty, I came upon some old share certificates. They aren't of any great value, maybe a few pounds each, but I decided to hold on to them. I thought that they would be an interesting addition to my study wall once framed. Most of them date from the latter years of the nineteenth century and were issued to a Mrs Mary Gaussen, wife of Rev James Gaussen of Wellington Road Dublin. I have tried to discover something about this lady and her husband, but although I can find reference to various Gaussens in Dublin in the nineteenth century to date I have been unsuccessful in discovering any information regarding this pair.

They must certainly have had a very comfortable life style. Mrs Gaussen's holding of £450 of Consolidated Preference Stock in the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway Company would equate to some £64,000 today, although of course the stock may have been trading at under par when it was purchased.

These old share certificates are interesting in that they do give an insight into our industrial past and the engraving is often very detailed. I suspect that it will not be long before share certificates become a thing of the past. Even private share holdings are for the most part now held on a paperless nominee basis.

The Belfast & Northern Counties Railway Company was the name adopted by the Belfast & Ballymena Railway Company after it amalgamated with/ took over the Ballymena Ballymoney Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway in 1860.