Sligo Quay

In 1862, Midland Great Western Railway built a short branch to serve the quayside at Sligo, which diverged from from their main line on the approach to Sligo Station itself, which had opened in December of that year. There was a large goods shed and yard located on the quay line, used by both the MGWR and after 1881 the Sligo Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway, who ran services from Sligo to Enniskillen until 1957. A tramway once also extended from the goods yard down the quayside to serve a number of private yards, this section of quayside line was lifted however in the late 1990s. The goods yard at Sligo Quay was modernised in the mid 1970s by CIE, with the installation of a new container crane. In later years container, oil and timber traffic were the main users. Unfortunately with the decline of freight on Irish Rail, no railfreight trains currently serve the terminal.
In 2004, 071 Class locomotive No.074, is seen ticking away at the freight terminal at Sligo Quay. No.074 was built by General Motors in 1976. Another view of loco No.074, with the freight yard in the background. Today the Irish Rail freight terminal is disused with the loss of container and timber traffic. In 1994, the freight terminal at Sligo Quay acquired this modern gantry crane for handling large container traffic between here and Dublin. One of the principal freight flows to Sligo was Esso oil traffic from Dublin Port. Three fuel wagons are seen here stabled in one of sidings in Sligo Quay's freight terminal.
This is the disused gate where an extension of the railway line exited from the freight terminal and continued alongside the quay at Sligo, running along the adjacent roadway. The line along the quay was lifted in the early 2000s. A view of the line which once ran along quayside at Sligo. Part of the track remains in situ at this former level crossing. The line was used to access the Cold Chon tar terminal further down the quay. In the 1990s, 071 Class locomotive No.071 runs along the grassy tracks on the quayside at Sligo with some tar wagons in tow from the Cold Chon terminal, just visible in the distance. ©Colm O'Callaghan