| Portstewart Tramway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Operation | |
| Locale | Portstewart |
| Open | 28 June 1882 |
| Close | 30 January 1926 |
| Status | Closed |
| Infrastructure | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
| Propulsion system | Steam |
| Statistics | |
| Route length | 1.85 miles (2.98 km) |
The3 ft (914 mm)narrow gaugePortstewart Tramway operated tramway services betweenPortstewart andPortstewart railway station at Cromore from 1882 to 1926.[1]
_Locomotive_No_2_(A2).jpg)
The Portstewart Tramway Company, formed by a group of local businessmen, built the Portstewart Tramway in 1882 to linkPortstewart toPortstewart railway station on theBelfast and Northern Counties RailwayColeraine–Portrush railway line.
Services started around 21 June 1882, a few days in advance of the arrival of the formal permission from theBoard of Trade on 28 June 1882. Two tram engines were obtained fromKitson and Company.
The tramway went into liquidation in 1897 and was purchased for £2,100 (equivalent to £301,000 in 2023)[2] by theBelfast and Northern Counties Railway. They invested in the tramway providing some additional passenger vehicles and a new steam tramway engine. A new depot was constructed in Portstewart by the railway engineerBerkeley Deane Wise in 1899, at the southern end of the promenade, opposite the Town Hall.[3]
It became part of theMidland Railway in 1903, and theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923.
The service ceased on 30 January 1926. A replacement bus service was provided by theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway