SLNCR Greenway – the cross-border line

Overview

The Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway (SL&NCR) ran from Enniskillen in County Fermanagh to Sligo town, threading through some of the emptiest country in Cavan, Leitrim and Sligo. It closed on 1 October 1957, and its trackbed is being rebuilt as the SLNCR Greenway, a cross-border, multi-use trail that joins the Wild Atlantic Way on the coast to the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark inland. From Collooney in County Sligo it runs through Ballintogher, Dromahair, Glenfarne and Blacklion to Enniskillen, on a continuous, gentle grade that suits cyclists, walkers and wheelchair users alike.

One caveat worth knowing before you plan a through-trip: only two of the three phases are open. The Glenfarne–Enniskillen section is still under construction, so the full Collooney-to-Enniskillen run is not yet continuous. Of the open stretches, start with Collooney–Dromahair: it runs near the shore of Lough Gill and ends within reach of a café at Dromahair, which makes it the easiest first ride for families.

History

The line grew out of a run of 19th-century schemes to link the Londonderry & Enniskillen Railway with Sligo. After the Enniskillen & Bundoran Railway failed to push west, the Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway Company was incorporated in 1875. Building started at a junction with the Great Northern Railway in Enniskillen and worked westward, reaching Belcoo in 1879, Glenfarne in 1880, Manorhamilton in 1881 and Carrignagat Junction near Collooney in 1882. To reach Sligo itself the company ran over Midland Great Western Railway track.

A few things set the SL&NCR apart:

• Independence – it stayed a private company to the end, never folded into the state networks that absorbed almost every other Irish line.
• Named engines – locomotives carried names such as Lough Melvin and Lough Erne rather than numbers.
• Railbuses – the line pioneered railbuses in the 1930s and 1940s, putting road-bus bodies onto rail chassis.
• Last of the steam – the 0-6-4T ‘Lough’ class built by Beyer, Peacock in 1951 were the last new steam engines to enter service on any Irish railway.

The track was Ireland’s standard 5 ft 3 in gauge. For decades it was a lifeline for the rural west, moving cattle, timber, turf and produce to market. During the Emergency it carried coal and food between north and south and briefly turned a profit.

Partition in 1921 was the slow undoing of it. Customs checks and two currencies complicated every crossing, and although both the Free State and Northern Ireland subsidised the line in its last years, the withdrawal of Northern support in 1957 closed it.

Heritage along the way

The original livery was olive-green with polished brass domes; later it went to plain black with red coupling rods, while railbuses wore two-tone green with white roofs and carriages were maroon. Interpretive panels going in as part of Phase 3 will explain all this, including the company’s tongue-in-cheek seal of two locomotives colliding.

The trail

• Length – about 70 km (44 miles) from Collooney to Enniskillen.
• Phases – Phase 1 (Collooney–Dromahair) opened 2020, Phase 2 (Dromahair–Glenfarne) opened 2022; Phase 3 (Glenfarne–Enniskillen) is under construction.
• Surface – compacted fine-gravel aggregate, fine for hybrid and mountain bikes, walking shoes and powered wheelchairs, though a few bridge abutments are slightly uneven.
• Gradient – never more than 2%, which is what makes it work for families and less-confident cyclists.

Access points:

• Collooney (Sligo) – parking by the former junction; Bus Éireann links to Sligo town.
• Ballintogher – a small car park and a café using local produce.
• Dromahair – a lay-by with picnic tables and a viewpoint over the River Drowes.
• Glenfarne – free parking by the signal cabin.
• Enniskillen – the terminus near the town centre, with ample parking and a link to the Ulster Way.

Maps and GPX files download from the official site.

Things to do

• Walking and cycling – the route runs past rolling drumlins, the shore of Lough Gill and the limestone karst of the Cuilcagh region.
• Wildlife – it crosses ground used by otters, kingfishers and songbirds; early mornings give the best chance of a sighting.
• Heritage – stop at the restored stations, the Glenfarne signal cabin and the Florencecourt stone building.

Practical information

The greenway is open year-round and free, maintained by a partnership of Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Fermanagh & Omagh councils, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure.

• Parking – small car parks at each access point; larger ones at Collooney and Enniskillen.
• Facilities – public toilets at Ballintogher and Dromahair; cafés at Ballintogher, Dromahair and Enniskillen.
• Bike hire – in Sligo town and Enniskillen.
• Safety – take care at road crossings, especially the former level crossings at Belcoo and Florencecourt.
• Transport – nearest airports are Ireland West Airport Knock (about 70 km) and Belfast International (about 120 km); rail serves Dublin–Sligo and Belfast–Enniskillen.

For the latest trail conditions, maps and volunteer information, see the official site: SLNCR Greenway.

Connecting attractions

The greenway is the natural thread between the Wild Atlantic Way on the coast and the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark inland. For a short detour off the route, Benbulben repays the climb with a long view over the surrounding drumlins, and Ballintogher has a café stop at the H. Moran bar on the main street.