RAILWAY HERITAGE - Verner's Bridge Traditional Cache

One of our region's best kept secrets is the old route of the Portadown to Londerry railway link. This link comprised the ‘Portadown & Dungannon Company’ line, latterly the ‘Portadown, Dungannon & Omagh Junction Railway Company’ line and the ‘Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway Company’ line.

In 1847 a railway from Portadown to Dungannon was sanctioned and it was opened on the 5th April, 1858. It was extended to Omagh in 1861 where it joined up with the “Londonderry & EnniskilIen Railway” to link up to Londonderry.

The line was opened from Portadown to a point a mile short of Dungannon on 5th April 1858. However, the Board of Trade's inspectors weren't satisfied with the signalling controlling the new part of the junction at Portadown, and, for a few months passengers from Dungannon had to detrain at a temporary platform near Curran Street (then called Bow Lane) and walk to the station in Woodhouse Street. Similarly, at the Dungannon end of the line, due to objections from Lord Northland, who did not want “smoke-belching steam trains” thundering through his estate, the original Dungannon Railway station serving this line had to be built on the Portadown side of the town.

During construction a plan was devised to extend the line on to Omagh and in 1857 a bill was passed incorporating the Portadown, Dungannon & Omagh Junction Railway Company, with 27 miles of single track railway to be built linking Dungannon to Omagh. Due to the continued objections of Lord Northland, a half mile long tunnel had to be driven through Windmill Hill to link the Portadown line to the town and thus on to Omagh.

Despite the substantial engineering involved it only took three years to build the line across the southern Sperrins moorlands via Carrickmore, Sixmilecross and Beragh to Omagh, thereby finalising the 41 mile link from Portadown to Omagh.

The single line track was doubled in 1899, and there were proposals that a Halt should be built at Clantilew Bridge to facilitate the local population, but this failed to materialise. Although a large amount of fruit from the orchards in Co Armagh was brought to Annaghmore Station for export, and a special store was erected about 1930, the line did not come up to expectations and was reduced to a single track in 1936.

The Second World War brought a temporary revival in business, but the line was finally closed, the last train running on February 15th, 1965.

Verner’s Bridge station built in 1862 sits 200 yards on the Portadown side of this bridge. It is yet another wonderful example of the Victorian ideal of form over function, with exaggerated Victorian chimney pots and a heraldic escutcheon above the entrance showing the construction date.

At least by being converted to a private dwelling house it will survive the ravages of neglect.The lane down to the station is now private but the building can clearly bee seen from the bridge.

The bridge itself now forms a front garden centre piece for the house now built on the old line.

The Cache