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An application for planning permission has been submitted to place a full scale Bessbrook Tram at the Camlough Road A1 roundabout.
The application from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council explains that the tram will be placed in the middle of the A1 roundabout at Camlough Rd on lands approx 95m west of 1-6 Derrybeg Villas, Newry.
Silhouette figures will also be placed within the tram to create the illusion of driver and passengers
Bessbrook used to have its own hydro-electrically powered tramway which was only the second such tramway in all of Ireland. It opened in 1885 and it was used to transport workers, as well as raw materials and finished goods, between Bessbrook mill and Newry. It was cleverly designed, because the wheels of the tramway could run on both road and rail, so it wasn’t necessary to build a line through Newry. The tramway remained in operation until 1948.
Plans to incorporate the history of the Bessbrook tram have been ongoing for several years. Graphics added to the planning portal this week are dated February 2018.
A replica tram was rebuilt in 2015 by Southern Regional College Students modelled on tram parts found in a field near Camlough and plans were originally made to site it at the roundabout beside the Egyptian Arch in 2018 but never materialised and it was then planned to place it at Newry Railway Station in 2019 but that didn't happen either and the tram was put into storage at the large shed at the Albert Basin. Whether this is the tram concerned or another replica remains to be seen as it was vandalised several years ago.
