Seeking the Swilly - a Story of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway and its Bus Services

Hugh Dougherty tells in words and his own photographs how he has ‘sought and experienced the Swilly’, a railway company that ran its last train in 1953 but continued serving Donegal for another 60 years, operating buses and lorries as much like a railway as it could. Hugh’s odyssey began in 1965 on car journeys with the parents, and the earliest photos in the book date from one of those trips, in July of that year. In 1974, during the Troubles, Hugh got into a bit of bother himself, photographing the buses in Pennyburn Yard, oblivious to the fact the British Army HQ was in the background. Luckily, he had a letter of permission from the company manager, but you need to read his account yourself to get the full flavour. There were calmer experiences in 1982, and on his 2019 holiday staying at Cashelnagor Station, now a holiday let, when further exploration of Swilly relics took place. This is a most enjoyable book, and that’s due to the author’s love and enthusiasm for the subject matter.