The Belfast
and County Down Railway (BCDR) was a railway in Northern Ireland
linking Belfast south - eastwards into County Down. It was built in
the 19th century.
On the 2nd August 1848 with the first section of the line
from Belfast to Holywood opened to passenger traffic for the first
time. Later this line would extend to Bangor and the main line
would run from Belfast to Newcastle, with branches to Donaghadee,
Ballynahinch and Ardglass.
It was later absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority
in 1948 and all but the line from Belfast to Bangor was closed in
1950.
Incidents and accidents:
On 10th January 1945, 22 passengers died an 24 were
injuredwhen the a railmotorcar ran into the rear of a convetional
train stopped at a signal at Ballymacarrett Juntion. The 7.40am
Railmotor Holywood to Belfat crashed into the rear of the 7.10am
Bangor to Belfast train. The darkness and fog were a factor but the
driver of the railmotor was held to blame. The railway had to pay
out some £80000 in compensation, which crippled the company
financially, leading to its early nationalisation in
1948.
This series will take you to various sites where the
railway stations still remain or once stood.
Comber
As you travel along the Comber bypass you will see the Fire
Station. This is the site of Comber station. The only remaining
building is the old goods shed. The bypass travels straight through
the station site along the route where the tracks once lay. They
continued along the route which is now the Comber Greenway where a
number of other caches can be discovered close by.
At Comber the line split. Straight on, where the main road now
lies, the branch went to Newtownards and onwards to what was once
the packet port of Donaghadee. The main line swung right to
Ballygowan. At the junction just before the old Comber station,
take a right turn on to the Ballygowan road (the A21). When you
reach Ballygowan, you will come to a roundabout. This roundabout is
on the site of a level crossing.
There is a car park close by the cache location which can be
used. This is close to a busy road with no footpath, just a grass
verge so please take extra care and control of children and pets.
The cache itself is similar size to a 35mm film canister and is
hidden with a view of the old railway station platform.
Other caches in this series.
BCDR Series #1
BCDR Series #3