The Egyptian Arch
The Ulster Railway
Company
In 1836, an Act of Parliament was passed granting
the Ulster Railway Company licence to "lay a line of rails from the
town of Belfast to the city of Armagh".
Radiating from its Great Victoria Street station
in Belfast, which was both the terminus and headquarters of the
company, the first train rolled into Lisburn on 12 August 1839.
Trains first ran into Lurgan on 18th November 1841 and on 31st
January 1842 a temporary terminus was brought into operation at
Seagoe on the outskirts of Portadown. Because of the soft nature of
the ground it was not until 12th September 1842 that the Ulster
made it to its new station at Watson Street,
Portadown.
The engineers involved were a distinguished trio:
William Bald, who directed the project, was the designer of the
Antrim Coast Road; John Godwin, engineer, had trained under Sir
James McAdam, and William Dargan, the contractor, had worked under
the famous Thomas Telford.
Portadown was to pose yet another challenge in
the form of the River Bann and the need to construct a bridge over
it resulted in the first trains not rolling into Armagh until 1848.
It was not until 1852 following completion of the viaduct at
Bessbrook that the line from Portadown was built through to just
north of Drogheda. Dublin was finally reached in 1855 after a
bridge over the River Boyne was completed. The Armagh line was
subsequently extended to Clones in 1863 and, from there on to
Enniskillen. Another railway line, which opened in 1858, radiated
from Portadown towards Omagh via Dungannon (see my other caches)
and was operated by the “Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh
Junction Company”. These three lines firmly established
Portadown as a major railway junction.
Like the nearby 18 arch Craigmore Viaduct, this
bridge accross the Newry - Camlough Road was built in 1851-52 by
William Dargan to a design by Sir John Macneill. It is a
traditional arch, although it does gain in strength and solidity
from the Egyptian style of the Pharoh's headpiece design and is
unique.
Have a look at the back of the next 2006 pound
coin that you find.
The Cache
The cache is a magnetic nano. This is a busy road so
please exercise caution.