Portadown Station
by Arnold Sleator
Review
Journal of Craigavon Historical Society
Vol. 6 No. 1 - 1989
Portadown Station was one of the most important junctions in Ireland. My father was Station Master at Portadown from May 1930 until December 1943. He kept meticulous records of surveys he carried out and some of these are shown in the tables below.
Number of Passenger Trains Arriving At and Departing From the 4 Platforms for a Weekly Period of Seven Days in 1931:
| Day | No 1 up-side platform |
No 2 up-island platform |
No.3 down-island platform |
No.4 down-side platform |
Total number of staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUNDAY | 7 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 19 |
| MONDAY | 17 | 8 | 23 | 13 | 61 |
| TUESDAY | 17 | 8 | 23 | 13 | 61 |
| WEDNESDAY | 17 | 9 | 24 | 13 | 63 |
| THURSDAY | 17 | 8 | 23 | 13 | 61 |
| FRIDAY | 17 | 8 | 23 | 13 | 61 |
| SATURDAY | 19 | 10 | 25 | 14 | 68 |
| TOTALS | 111 | 52 | 144 | 87 | 394 |
Portadown station had 9 level crossings attached to it. The following table shows a census of traffic over the crossings in the period 19th November to 16th December 1931:
| name of level crossing | horse-drawn vehicles | motor-cars | motor lorries under 3 tons | motor lorries 3-5 tons | motor lorries over 5 tons | omni-buses | motor-bicycles | bicycles | total number of vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 75 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 | 111 |
| Annakeera | 216 | 51 | 36 | - | - | - | 32 | 1,067 | 1,402 |
| Brownstown | 629 | 615 | 278 | - | 21 | - | 72 | 1,365 | 2,980 |
| Dobbyn | 536 | 463 | 245 | 122 | 36 | - | 342 | 955 | 2,699 |
| Purgatory | 283 | 184 | 101 | 54 | 3 | - | 60 | 432 | 1,117 |
| Seagoe | 2762 | 2616 | 1057 | 122 | 14 | 40 | 618 | 10,844 | 18,073 |
| Kernan | 526 | 143 | 174 | 11 | - | - | 24 | 1,132 | 2,010 |
| Drumnagoon | 644 | 181 | 186 | 114 | 7 | - | 92 | 1,114 | 2,338 |
| Boilie | 674 | 525 | 438 | 130 | 5 | 7 | 159 | 1,836 | 3,774 |
Record of Rail Excursions from Portadown in 1931
| Date | Organisation | Destination | Tickets sold | Total cost | Train details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th June Sat | Life Boys | Belfast | 18 | £ 1: 6: 3 | Reserved Compartments |
| 7th June Sun | Mr Greenaway | Drogheda/ Boyne Valley | 53 | £21: 4: 0 | Norman Services |
| 11th June Thurs | St Mark's S.S. | Warrenpoint | 1719 | £93: 2: 3 | 2 Special each of 13 thirds + 1 Compo + 1 Van |
| 18th June Thurs | Methodist S.S. | Warrenpoint | 1500 | £ 81: 5: 0 | 2 Special each of 13 thirds + 1 Compo + 1 Van |
| 25th June Thurs | Drumcree, Dobbyn, Tartaraghan and Milltown S.S. | Warrnepoint | 961 | £52: 1 : 1 | 1 Special of 13 thirds + 1 Van |
| 25th June Thurs | Corbett's Shop | Whitehead | 61 | £ 9:17: 8 | 11.30am ex Dublin with 2 Sun Saloon Buses from Belfast to Whtiehead |
| 27th June Sat | Seagoe Girls' Friendly | Dublin | 37 | £13:17: 6 | Reserved 7.45am ex Belfast |
| 13th July Mon | County Demostration | Killylea | 1358 | £96: 3:10 | Specials |
| 14th July Tues | Scarva Demonstration | Scarva | 1654 | £67: 1 : 0 | Specials |
| 14th July Tues | Baptist S.S. | Warrenpoint | 133 | £ 9:19: 6 | 4 thirds attached to 9.12am |
| 15th July Wed | Junior Rechabites | Newcastle | 513 | £42:15: 0 | One Special of 9 thirds + 2 Vans |
| 15th July Thurs | Rev Canon McDonald S.S. | Warrenpoint | 1217 | £65:18: 5 | 2 Specials each of 9 thirds + 1 Van |
| 16th July Thurs | Seagoe S.S. | Warrenpoint | 821 | £44: 9:5 | 1 Special of 14 thirds + 1 Van |
| 16th July Thurs | Gospel Hall S.S. | Warrenpoint | 141 | £10:11: 6 | 4 thirds attached to 9.12am |
| 23rd July Thurs | United Presbyterian S.S. | Newcastle | 1054 | £79: 1 : 0 | 2 Specials each of 9 thirds + 2 Vans |
| 25th July Sat | Knocknamuckley S.S. | Warrenpoint | 230 | £16: 5:10 | 4 thirds attached to 9.12am |
| 3rd Aug Mon | West Street Hall | Bangor | 710 | £91:12: 0 | 1 Special 13 thirds + 1 Van |
| 12th Aug Wed | Apprentice Boys | Derry | 430 | £96:15: 0 | 6 bogie thirds, 1 saloon, 1 compo |
| 13th Aug Thurs | Salvation Army | Warrenpoint | 233 | £16:10: 1 | 4 thirds attached to 9.12am |
| 15th Aug Sat | Ancient Order Hiberians | Armagh | 142 | £ 8:17: 6 | 4 thirds attached to normal service |
| 20th Aug Thurs | Football Club | Belfast | 131 | £11: 9: 3 | 2 bogie thirds to 4pm ex Derry |
| 22nd Aug Sat | Hamilton Robb | Bangor | 216 | £27:18: 0 | Special of 2 superior bogies, 1 third bogie + small third |
Time Checks on the GNR Company (Ireland)
"In order that correct and uniform time may be maintained by the clocks all along the line, the following arrangements must be strictly carried out:
At two minutes before 9.35am (Irish Time) the Telegraph clerk at Amiens Street Station will take possession of the Dublin and Belfast, Dublin and Howth, and intermediate Railway Station wires by means of signalling the word "Time"; then just before the precise moment, hold the instrument dead and signal the word "Ten", by which all the Stations on the circuit will know the exact time, namely 9.35am (Irish Time), and must adjust their clocks accordingly.
Guards in charge of the first Passenger Trains which start after 9.35am must, on their arrival at each Station where there is no Telegraph, give the exact time to the Station Master or other person in charge, and if the time given by the Guard differs from that of the clocks at these Stations, the latter must be altered to agree with the Guard's time".
(QUOTE: Working Time Table 1.10.1905).