Sir, - Your correspondent wrote before Christmas about the demise of the famous old Giant's Causeway tram in 1949. Since that time the last two miles of the trackbed between the causeway and Bushmills has remained a popular walkway.
For more than 20 years I drove the trains on the charming railway at Shane's Castle once or twice a year. When it was announced that this was to be closed and sold, it seemed to me it would be a great loss.
Although it seemed unlikely to succeed, I proposed uniting the Shane's Castle trains with the site of the causeway tram - which fortunately was in the care of two local authorities, Moyle District Council and Coleraine Borough Council.
A new company, the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway, has been formed; charitable status obtained; 50-year leases negotiated, and planning permission granted. The railway was purchased last spring, and reconstruction of two miles of line will shortly commence. The whole project value is about £1 million, and it is jointly funded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the International Fund for Ireland and other private sources.
Small railways are nowadays very popular family attractions all over the world. They are something for people to do, not just to look at, and of course they are just as good on a wet day as a dry one.
When we're up and running, come to see us! - Yours, etc., D. W. Laing,
Dervock, Ballymoney, Co Antrim.