Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway
Coordinates: 54°42′25″N 7°35′35″W / 54.707°N 7.593°W The Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway operating in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It opened in 1883 and closed in 1933.
This 7.25-mile (11.67 km) long line was situated entirely within County Tyrone, linking the market town of Castlederg through Spamount, Crew and Fyfin to Victoria Bridge (a junction with the main line of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland)). The line followed the course of the road for almost its entire length, and there were passing loops at Spamount and Crew.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) reached Victoria Bridge in 1852. Plans for a narrow gauge rail link to Castlederg were agreed at a public meeting held in the town in August 1881. The line was constructed shortly prior to the enactment of the Tramways Act 1883, and opened in April 1883, so the promoters lost out on any financial assistance from the government. Because of a sharp gradient on the approach to Victoria Bridge, all trains had to be equipped with a Westinghouse continuous braking system - the first trains in Ireland to be so equipped. The line's first two steam locomotives were fitted with enclosed bodywork as tram engines. Throughout its operation, the line was normally served by three return workings every day (except Sundays), with an additional service on Fridays and Castlederg Fair days. It started with two Kitson tramway type 0-4-0T locomotives, but these were both gone by 1912. A third improved Kitson tram locomotive was acquired in 1891, this was withdrawn in 1928.
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