The Finn Valley Railway (FVR) was a 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge railway in Ireland.
History
Incorporation
The Finn Valley Railway Company was incorporated on 15 May 1860 with capital of £60,000 (equivalent to £7,120,000 in 2023).[1]
Personnel
The Chairman of the directors was The 4th Viscount Lifford, whose seat was Meenglass Castle, just south-east of Ballybofey, and the Deputy-Chairman was James Thompson Macky of the Bank of Ireland in Derry.[2]
The other directors were:
- Robert Collum, 1 Chester Place, Hyde Park Square, London
- Edward Hunter, The Glebe, Blackheath, Kent
- Maurice Ceely Maude, Lenaghan, Enniskillen
- Sir Samuel Hercules Hayes, 4th Baronet, Leuaghan, Stranorlar
- Robert Russell, Salthill, Mountcharles
- Major Humphreys, Milltown House, Strabane
The other offices of the company were:
- James Alex Ledlie, Stranorlar, Secretary
- Peter W. Barlow, 26 Great George Street, Westminster, Consulting Engineer
- John Bower, Engineer
Opening
A 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge rail line between Stranorlar and Strabane was opened on 1 October 1863.
Operation
The directors entered into a contract with the Irish North Western Railway to work the line for a period of 10 years. This company became amalgamated with the Great Northern Railway (Ireland)[3] in 1876.
Merger and gauge conversion
In 1892, the line merged with the West Donegal Railway into a new company, the Donegal Railway Company. The line from Stranorlar to Strabane was reconstructed to (3 ft (914 mm)) gauge shortly afterwards.
