Transport Systems

 

The Canal.

An ambitious project to build a canal linking the Shannon and the Erne was begun in1846. This canal was to pass through the centre of the parish with Lough Scur, the highest point, having water flowing from it towards the Erne. Work began in June 1846, hit it was not until 1849 when the area was designated a distressed area, that work began on it in earnest. It was seen then as relief work. It is estimated at this time that there almost 4,000 people working on the 36 mile stretch of canal. The most difficult part was working cutting through rock at the Letterfine. In 1850, a special rail line was laid from Letterfine to Lough Scur and a horse drawn tram was used to transport the rock and soil to Lough Scur.

By 1859, the canal was completed. It was a failure from a navigational view point but it proved to be a successful drainage system. It also provided employment in the parish at a time when relief work was badly needed. This canal has now been renamed as the Shannon Erne Waterway and is managed jointly by the Waterways service of the Department of Arts, cultural and the gaeltacht and the Watercourse management Dussion of the Department of Agriculture to Northern Ireland. It was restored finally in 1994 to provide a crucial link between the Shannon and the Erne. It has also helped to boost tourism in the area.

 

The Narrow Gauge Railway.

By the 1880`s, it was obvious that the canal was a failure from a navigational point of view. From 1883 onwards, there were rumours of another transport system, a narrow gauge railway, being built to link some towns in West Cavan and South Leitrim. In the summer of 1883, Midland Great Western Railway decided that they would not build a broad gauge line, as it was too expensive. The local people decided to go ahead with the project themselves. Meetings were held in all the local towns. It was decided to build a narrow gauge line which was three feet wide. The cost was reckoned at £2,300 a mile. On December 3rd 1883, the company was named Cavan, Leitrim and Roscommon light railway and Tramway Co. Ltd with a capital of £3,000. Work on the foundations of the line began in Autumn of 1885. By April1886, some bridges were completed. By August, the rails were completed . By April 1886,some bridges were completed. By August, the rails were laid from Mohill to Dromod, and the engine was in operation a month later. The Ballyconnell-Belturbet-Ballinamore sections were completed in October. Work began on the Ballinamore Arigna section in October 1886 and was completed in February 1888. The tramway passed through the parish of Kiltubrid.There were three stops in the parish.The first at Annadale, one at Kiltubrid station [ where the station house still stands] and the third was at Creagh.The train tracks ran along the side of the road and crossed the road in two places in our parish. There was a depot for storing goods in Drumcong .Side tracks were provided at Aughaslane and Drumcong to enable wagons containing coal to be let off and the contents loaded onto carts.At Aughaslane, the layby was used to fill wagons with sand from the river and leave them ready for their destination. There was a single phone line from the base Ballinamore to Arigna.The purpose of this was to alert each gate house station along the root what time the train was leaving. The chugging and whistling of the steam engine were familiar sounds in the area.The narrow gauge which ran dangerously along the road, and which caused a number of deaths, was a great boost to the parish at a time when it was surely needed. In those early days it gave locals employment and it was too, a sign of hope. The train station was finally closed on March 31st 1959, as it was no longer financially viable.