Balbriggan

Balbriggan, north Co.Dublin, is located on the main Dublin to Belfast line. The Dublin & Drogheda railway opened the station at Balbriggan with its line to Drogheda in 1844. The station has up & down platforms, with the original brick built D&DR station building on the down side. Opposite this is the typical Great Northern style station masters house, built sometime after the 1870s. A new modern style IE footbridge was built at the north end of the station recently. The signal cabin, a typical GNR design, was located north of the station on the up side beyond the former goods yard, the cabin was taken out of use in 1994, and was unfortunately demolished in 1998. The small goods shed remains in situ. The station also once boasted two small water towers on the down platform, but these have long since been demolished. At the south end of the station the line crosses the small harbour on a stone viaduct. The station is exclusively served by Drogheda commuter trains.
Arriving at Balbriggan Station is 29000 Class railcar No.29422, with a southbound service from Drogheda to Dublin. Both the new & old footbridges are seen in this view. Passing beneath the newer footbridge at Balbriggan is 071 Class loco No.084, heading a northbound empty ore train from Dublin to the Tara Mines at Navan. With the spire belonging to St George's Church of Ireland in the background, 201 Class locomotive No.206 approaches Balbriggan Station at speed with the 13:20 Dublin-Belfast 'Enterprise'. De Dietrich driving van trailer No.9002 approaches Balbriggan Station heading the 12:30 'Enterprise' from Belfast. The chimney stack
een at the same location at the north end of Balbriggan Station is 29000 Class railcar No.29120, seen arriving from Drogheda with a service to Dublin Pearse. Seen rolling through Balbriggan Station is silver & black liveried 071 Class loco No.080, heading the loaded ore train from Tara Mines to Dublin Port. Seen crossing the harbour viaduct at the south end of Balbriggan Station is 201 Class loco No.230 with the 13:20 'Enterprise' to Belfast. The loco is still in its original dark green and grey Enterprise colours. Crossing the same viaduct is 071 Class loco No.084, heading a rake of empty ore wagons bound for the Tara Mines at Navan.
Loco 084 is seen again at the south end of Balbriggan on another occasion, this time bringing some 4-wheel CIE built cement wagons, known as 'bubble's, to the Platin cement factory near Drogheda. One of the older generation of diesel railcars, a 2600 Class, is seen arriving at Balbriggan headed by No.2615 with a stopping service to Drogheda. Two very convenient pathways aresattached to the up & down side of the viaduct at Balbriggan, as seen here on the right. 201 Class 207 powers a southbound 'Enteprise' service to Dublin. Viewed from the south end of the down platform, 29000 Class railcar No.29427, prepares to depart with a service to Dublin Pearse. On the right can be seen one of the screens to help aid the driver's sighting of passengers when preparing to depart from this curved location.
A small Irish Rail inspection car, built in 1994, is seen on the northern approach to Balbriggan Station heading towards Dublin. A grubby looking 071 Class loco No.087 heads cement 'bubbles' from Dublin North Wall to Platin through Balbriggan Station. Seen just south of Balbriggan Station at the 'County Bridge' is a Dublin bound 'Enterprise' express headed by De Detrich driving van trailer No.9004. Approaching the same bridge but from the south this time is a northbound Dublin to Drogheda commuter service, headed by an 8-car 29000 Class railcar No.29123.
Framed by the simple late 1960s built concrete footbridge at Balbriggan Station is 071 Class loco No.076, heading yet another empty Tara Mines train from Dublin. This loco, dating from 1976, has since been repainted in silver & black. An early 1980s view of the north end of Balbriggan Station. By this time the siding into the goods shed has been lifted and the small water tower demolished. The adjcent convent behind the yard would also disappear. ©Joe Curtis Back to the present and De Detrich 'Enterprise' DVT No.9003 heads a southbound express through Balbriggan Station, gone of course is the GNR signal cabin. The platform side of Balbriggan Station, is very similiar to the type built at Kells, Co.Meath. It has since been reconstructed to allow further access to the platform, as well as providing a shutter door cover when the building is closed.
The neat brick station building at Balbriggan, as viewed from the station forecourt. Access to the platforms can also be gained through the gate on the left on the building is closed. A mixture of station structures at Balbriggan, with the late 1960s footbridge, the 1840s station building, and modern the footbridge dating from 2002. A November 1948 view of Balbriggan Station, looking north from the up platform, showing the original wooden covered Dublin & Drogheda Railway footbridge which was replaced by the basic concrete structure in the late 1960s. On the down platform can be seen the second water tower. ©Joe Curtis View looking north towards Drogheda from the end of the down platform. The goods siding once trailed in from the left, and beyond the railings is the site of the signal cabin, demolished in 1999.
Seen passing Balbriggan signal cabin at speed is Northern Ireland Railway's 111 Class loco No.111, heading south with the Belfast to Dublin 'Enterprise' in the summer of 1989. ©Joe Curtis A scene at the north end of Balbriggan Station in August 1994 sees 141 Class loco No.172 heading a southbound freightliner train from Belfast, once a common sight on this main line. ©Colm O'Callaghan By the late 1990s the semaphore signals had disappeared but the Great Northern cabin was still in situ. Another freight flow (since lost) to be seen passing through Balbriggan was the Kingscourt (Co.Meath) to Castlemungret (Co.Limerick) gypsum train, an example of which seen here headed by 121 Class loco No.134, a loco which has since been preserved. ©Colm O'Callaghan This is the former Great Northern Railway signal cabin, located at the north end of Balbriggan Station on the down side of the line. The cabin was made redundant in 1994 following the introduction of Centralised Traffic Control signalling. ©Joe Curtis
In happier times, V Class compound No.85 'Merlin' has an audience in the GNR signal cabin as it passes south on the approach to Balbriggan Station with a Railway Preservation Society of Ireland steam 'Enterprise' in 1987. ©Joe Curtis At the north end of Balbriggan Station is a little used siding on the down side, where the the cattle pens were once located. The colour light signal dates from the resignalling of the Dublin to Belfast line in the mid 1990s. Opposite the station building is the typical Great Northern style station masters house, built some time after the 1870s. This is the small stone built store adjacent to the former goods area at Balbriggan Station. Due to the lack of space around the station it was set a right angles to the railway line, accessed by siding off a single wagon turntable.
This is the eleven arch viaduct across the habour south of Balbriggan Station. In this view of the stone built structure is one of the attached footpaths, located on either side supported by cast iron arches. This is the town side (or down side) of the viaduct. 071 Class locomotive No.080 approaches the County Bridge south of Balbriggan, Co.Dublin, with a ballast working returning to Dublin's North Wall yard. Railcar No.2819 leads an 8-car 2800 Class set south from Balbriggan while operating an afternoon Drogheda to Dublin service. In brighter conditions, a 29000 Class railcar, No.29404, leads a southbound commuter service away from Balbriggan while en route to Pearse Station, Dublin.
071 Class No.080 now works a loaded Tara Mines (Navan) to Alexandra Rd (Dublin Port) ore train past the County Bridge at Balbriggan. At the same location, sister loco No.084 approaches the County Bridge with an empty ballast train from Drogheda to North Wall. Enterprise DVT No.9004 leads a Belfast to Dublin service through Balbriggan, with 201 Class loco No.207 propelling at the rear. Once common on Enterprise services until the mid 1990s, Northern Ireland Railways 111 Class loco No.112 takes the first leg of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's 'Province of Leinster' tour through Balbriggan, consisting of Mk2 stock.