County Donegal Railways Joint Committee

The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway system serving county Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee.

On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. The lines inherited by the Joint Committee totalled 106 miles (171 km) and were:

The Joint Committee opened the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway on 1 January 1909, bringing the total mileage to 121 miles (195 km). By 1912 the company owned the following assets:

The Strabane to Derry line was completely owned by the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee although it was operated by the CDJRC.

Under the management of Henry Forbes, traffic superintendent from 1910 to 1943, the County Donegal Railways became pioneers in the use of diesel traction. The first diesel railcar was built in 1930 (the first diesel railcar anywhere in the British Isles), although two further petrol-engined railcars were built before standardisation on diesel traction in 1934. Eight articulated diesel railcars were constructed by Walker Brothers of Wigan between 1934 and 1951, by which time virtually all passenger services were operated by diesel railcar. The railcars could only be driven from one end and had to be turned by a turntable to make a return journey. They also couldn't be worked in multiple, if two railcars were working back to back both required a driver. The railcars were incapable of hauling most freight wagons, so steam traction continued to be used on freight and excursion trains. The railcars were powerful enough to haul specially constructed trailers and some lightweight freight wagons, these special wagons were painted red to distinguish them from the heavier wagons which were grey. A diesel locomotive named Phoenix (converted from a steam locomotive) was also used, but due to the noisy and slow speed, (top speed of 27mph) she spent most of her career shunting and built up a mileage of 204,577 miles in its working life.

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