Restored station barrow pushes Omagh heritage project forward
A RESTORED station barrow, once used to move parcels and luggage on Northern Ireland’s Omagh station platform, has given a local railway heritage project a push forward.
The barrow, of a type to be found throughout the steam-age British and Irish railway systems, was last used at Omagh before the station was closed with the rest of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland’s (GNR(I)) ‘Derry Road,’ linking Portadown and Northern Ireland’s second city, on February 15, 1965. It was discovered by council workers during a clear-out of a store at an Omagh industrial estate.
Luckily, the local authority staff recognised the historical importance of the artefact before it went to auction, and the barrow was restored by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, much to the delight of Paddy Hamilton and Mike McGrath, founders of the recently-launched Omagh Railway Heritage Forum.
Aim
“We’re delighted that the barrow has been saved,” said Mike. “Our aim is to collect GNR(I) artefacts from Omagh and district and to establish a railway heritage centre.
“Since we recently marked the 70th anniversary of the Omagh station tragedy, in which five track workers were killed, there has been an enormous rise in awareness of the town’s railway heritage.
“The discovery of the barrow has given the project further impetus as the first historic item to be rescued and restored. We’d like to see it exhibited in the town’s Strule Arts Centre, until the railway heritage centre is established.”
The drive to preserve and exhibit Omagh’s railway heritage has also been given the backing of Coun Barry McElduff. He wants to see all the local surviving GNR(I) built heritage recorded and conserved, with a railway heritage trail being established linking Omagh with villages once served by the railway, such as Carrickmore and Fintona, and all available artefacts displayed in Omagh, in due course.
“There’s a tremendous appetite for GNR(I) heritage to be made accessible,” said Coun McElduff. “Speaking personally, I would love to see the Fintona Horse Tram, which linked Fintona Junction with Fintona itself, and currently on display at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (UFTM) at Cultra, return to this area to take its place locally with other artefacts from our local railway age.”
An attempt in 1988 by the Fintona Development Association to bring the tram back ‘home’ from the UFTM, and run it on a short length of track as a tourist attraction, fell flat when the museum refused to part with the 1883-built vehicle unless an indoor, temperature-controlled premises was built to house it. Coun McElduff is making it clear that he would ask for the tram’s return, only if all proper arrangements were made to satisfy the UFTM, and no official approach has been made at this stage.
Artefacts
Omagh Railway Heritage Forum is currently appealing for pictures and momentoes of the railway in and around Omagh which, until 1957, was the junction for trains to Enniskillen, Bundoran, Clones and Dundalk.
“We believe, as the discovery of the barrow shows, that there are still relics out there, and we’d be delighted to hear from anyone who can help us with any artefacts,” added Mike.
The group can be contacted via www.facebook.com/OmaghRail