Three-foot gauge Fintown Railway re-opens

We report on the welcomed re-opening of the three-foot gauge Fintown Railway, which sprang back into life in June.

The three-foot gauge Fintown Railway re-opened on a five days per week basis on Wednesday, June 15th. Trains ran on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays until mid-September, with former County Donegal Railways railcar 18 in charge.

Gardner-engined railcar 18, built by Walkers of Wigan and the Great Northern Railway of Ireland for the CDR in 1940, has been on loan to the railway by its owners, the North West of Ireland Railway Society, since Easter 2003, and will mark 20 years at Fintown in 2023.

Seamus McElwee of Comlacht Traenach na Gaeltacht Lair said: “We’re delighted to be open again this year, and are hoping for a good season as we were badly hit by the Covid lockdowns. Our local credit union has been very kind to us and that allowed us to run again during the summer, but we need as many people as possible to visit us and to ride in a genuine Donegal railcar over our three-mile section of the Glenties line, amid superb scenery, to bring in much-needed revenue to ensure our future survival.”

Fares are €8 for adults and €5 for children, with family fares on offer. You can find out more about the railway by visiting its Facebook page HERE

The story comes from the latest issue of Old Glory, and you can get a money-saving subscription simply by clicking HERE