C1711 : Swilly buses, Letterkenny
taken 45 years ago, near to Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland
In the years between 1863 and 1953, the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway operated a narrow (3ft) gauge railway in the rural and lightly-populated parts of north Donegal. The company still exists and operates buses on services which include the former railway routes. In 1970/80’s the fleet contained many second-hand ex-Ulsterbus and CIE vehicles well past their prime. The Letterkenny depot was the old railway station, adjacent to the CIE bus depot - originally the County Donegal Railways (narrow (3ft) gauge) station.
The company was wound up by the Northern Ireland High Court in 2014. The following is a quotation from the official notice in the “Belfast Gazette”: “THE INSOLVENCY (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1989 LONDONDERRY & LOUGH SWILLY RAILWAY COMPANY By Order dated 15 May 2014, the above-named company (registered office at Ballyraine Road, Letterkenny, County Donegal,) was ordered to be wound up by the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.” Operations ended during April 2014.