Queens Quay, Belfast

Queens Quay is a section of land bordering the River Lagan, in the western Titanic Quarter of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

As its name suggests, it originally located the southern section of the Belfast docks complex. But as ships grew it became a major transportation hub for both the capital and Northern Ireland.

B&CDR Queens Quay station

Originally it was located in the southern section of the Belfast docks complex, but as ships grew it became the Belfast terminus of the Belfast and County Down Railway, linking Belfast south-eastwards via 80 miles of track into County Down. The first train from the station ran on 2 August 1848 to Holywood, with services eventually extending as far as Castlewellan, Downpatrick, Newcastle and the fishing village of Ardglass.

Queens Quay also housed the B&CDR's locomotive maintenance workshops, and from 1886 the carriage works. The last carriage was built in 1923. All lines except to Bangor closed in 1950 shortly after nationalization into the Ulster Transport Authority.cite web | title=Belfast and County Down Railway | work= Irish Railwayana| url=http://www.irishrailwayana.com/pa005.htm | accessdate=2007-09-01] The station was closed and demolished in 1976, and Bangor services were diverted to the new Belfast Central Station via a reopened line.

Today

In part Queens Quay now encompasses the A2 as it crosses the River Lagan at both Queens Bridge and the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, and the M3 via the Cross Harbour link. The former site of the B&CDR station was resided on by a maintenance shop for the Northern Ireland Railways system until the mid-nineties.

Development

Queens Quay, being a virtually derelict and under developed piece of land in central Belfast, is key to the development of the Titanic Quarter. After a number of development proposals, discussions are still taking place for a mixed use development of housing, offices and retail, together with a small facility for leisure boats. [citeweb|url=http://skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=4846|title=Queens Quay Block E1 |date=23rd August, 2006|accessdate=2008-01-16]

References

External links

* [http://www.signalbox.org/overseas/ireland/belfastyard.htm Belfast Queens Quay station signalbox]