Kilfree Junction railway station
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Kilfree Junction  | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°59′31″N 8°26′28″W / 53.992°N 8.441°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 112.5 mils (2.86×10−6 km)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1874 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 1963 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Original company | Sligo and Ballaghaderreen Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pre-grouping | Midland Great Western Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pre-nationalisation | Great Southern Railways | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Ballaghaderreen branch line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kilfree Junction is a former station in County Sligo and was located on the Sligo line in the townland of Cloontycarn between Boyle and Ballymote about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the track summit though the Curlew Mountains. It enabled connections on the branch line to Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. The junction faced Ballymote and Sligo station and was a trailing junction in the Boyle and Dublin Connolly direction requiring a reversal. The station was not located near any significant settlement, the nearest, Gorteen in County Sligo being over 6 km away.
The station had three platforms: two served a passing loop on the main line and the third was used by the branch line. All main line trains usually used the island platform for easier transfers to the branch line. The station had sidings and turntable for turning round engines coming up from the branch line together with a loop for running the branch line train. There was a signal box and a house for the station master.[1]
This railway station opened by the Sligo and Ballaghderreen Railway on 31 October 1874, becoming part of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) in 1877.[2][3][4]
The MGWR was joined with other railways companies to form Great Southern Railway company in 1924 and with a further merger in 1925 the station came under Great Southern Railways.[citation needed]
The station closed on 4 February 1963 with the closure of the branch line. The last passenger train back to Ballaghaderreen at 13:00 set off a large number of denotators set on the track to mark the departure.[4]
The passing loop has since been removed leaving the main line as single track. Only part of the island platform and the station masters' house remain. The embankment of the branch line is still visible from trains passing on the main line.[citation needed]