Dundalk South Junction

Dundalk South Junction was located not surprisingly just south of the large Co.Louth town of Dundalk. The junction was sited on the main Dublin to Belfast line near the Great Northern Railway works. The turn out for the junction was south facing and allowed trains to reach the Barrack St branch and the adjacent yard associated with the GNR works. The diverging line curved sharply to the east to pass the works, and joined the Barrack St branch at 'Dundalk East Jct'. Originally Dundalk South Jct was controlled by an adjacent signal cabin, but with the closure of the GNR works and the lifting of the adjacent extensive yard, the cabin was closed in 1962 and colour light signals were installed, controlled from the 'Central Cabin' near Dundalk Station.

The junction remained in use for freight trains travelling to and from Barrack St yard on the east side of Dundalk town until 1995. Today the 'South Jct' remains in situ but only for access to a fenced off siding, the remnant of which is short stub of the former Barrack St branch which was largely lifted in 1996 after its closure.
Seen passing Dundalk South Junction in May 1992 is 001 Class loco No.038, heading a northbound freightliner to Belfast. The branch from Barrack St and the former Great Northern Railway works converges from the left. ©Colm O' Callaghan Another 001 Class loco, this time No.021, heads south away from Dundalk with a freightliner bound for North Wall in Dublin in May 1992. The turn out for the Barrack St branch can be seen on the right. ©Colm O' Callaghan With the mainline clear, 141 Class loco No.147 comes off the Barrack St branch with a keg transfer. In the background can be seen the former locomotive sheds of the GNR Dundalk Works. ©Colm O' Callaghan No.147 then propelled its short train along the up line back towards Dundalk Station. In the foreground can be seen the two 1960s installed colour light shunt signals, the one of the left referring to the up main line, while that on the right was for Barrack St. ©Colm O' Callaghan
The branch to Barrack St closed in 1995, with the track been lifted the following year, however a short section from Dundalk South Jct was retained as a long siding, seen here though very much out of use and fenced off. Another shot of the short remnent of the Barrack St branch, viewed from the disused South Jct. The track is covered entirely by grass. This area is used for storing redundant track materials.