THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: Government is urged to keep Ulster railways in existence

On this day in 1950 the News Letter reported that during a meeting of Antrim County Council which had been held in Belfast that a letter from the Transport Division of the Ministry of Commerce concerning the abandonment of further railway tracks.

The letter said that the division sympathised with the feelings which had been expressed in a recent resolution which had dealt with the ministry’s proposals.

The letter shared its regret that “some people might experience inconvenience, if not hardship,” but it did assure that the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) intended “and confidently expected”, to be able to provide adequate alternative services by road.

The ministry’s letter added that they would regard the council as not lodging an objection before the Transport Tribunal and had concluded: “The Ministry can hold out no expectation of legislation to change the law.”

Mr P B Webb said that their view was it was useless to make an objection but that their opinion was that the railways were necessary to the six counties, “and not only to Antrim”.

He continued: “As time goes on and the railways are reduced and whittled away, with the possible exception of the main GNR line, and the main line through Antrim, we will have burned our boats and the cost of re-building them will be beyond reasonable proposition.”

Mr Webb added: “The railways should be kept in existence. If they are not, the country will not be in a happy position in five or 10 years when I believe that we will be in the position of saying: ‘We told you so,’ but that will get us nowhere.”

Mr W R Knox, the chairman of Portrush Urban Council, said that it would be disastrous to scrap the railways in Northern Ireland.

Mr Knox declared: “What will be the position in a national emergency? It is a mistake to divert traffic to roads which cannot handle it.”

The chairman, Mr Alexander McConnell, said that it had been decided that the council would not fight the case as Down had done since “it would be useless”.