Dublin and Drogheda Railway (D&D) was an Irish gauge

Irish gauge

Irish gauge railways use a track gauge of . It is used in* Ireland * Australia where it is also known as Victorian Broad Gauge* Brazil where it is also known as Bitola larga no Brasil....

  railway company in Ireland.

The D&D constructed the railway line between Dublin and Drogheda

Drogheda

Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....

. The company presented the scheme to parliament in 1836 and received royal assent on 13 August 1836. John MacNeill

John Benjamin Macneill

Sir John Benjamin MacNeill FRS was an eminent Irish civil engineer of the 19th century, closely associated with Thomas Telford. His most notable projects were railway schemes in Ireland...

 was appointed as the line's engineer in 1840 and by October 1840 construction was underway. The official opening of the line occurred on 25 May 1844. Initially trains ran from Drogheda

Drogheda

Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....

 (the Drogheda terminus of the D&D being 1/4 mile southeast of the current Drogheda railway station

Drogheda railway station

Drogheda MacBride railway station serves Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. There is a railcar servicing depot for commuter trains here.The original Drogheda station opened on 25 May 1844 about a quarter mile southeast. The passenger station was resited when the first temporary Boyne Viaduct...

) to a temporary Dublin terminus at the Royal Canal.

The following stations were served by the line when it opened:
Royal Canal (Temporary Dublin terminus - replaced by Amiens Street Station

Dublin Connolly railway station

Dublin Connolly, commonly called Connolly station , is one of the main railway stations in Dublin, Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. Opened in 1844 as Amiens Street Station, the ornate facade has a distinctive Italianate tower at its centre...

 on 29 November 1844);
Clontarf

Clontarf railway station

Clontarf railway station was a railway station in Dublin, Ireland, on the Dublin and Drogheda Railway line.-Location:The remnants of the station can still be seen at the rail bridge over Howth Road, halfway between the start of that road and Killester village centre, approximately one kilometre...

;
Raheny

Raheny railway station

Raheny railway station , opened on 25 May 1844, at the establishment of the Dublin-Drogheda line, serves the village and core of the district of Raheny in Dublin...

;
Baldoyle

Baldoyle railway station

Baldoyle railway station was a railway station on the Dublin-Drogheda railway line, that served Baldoyle in County Dublin.The station opened in 1844 and closed in 1846....

;
Portmarnock

Portmarnock railway station

Portmarnock railway station serves Portmarnock in County Dublin.The station opened on 25 May 1844.- External links :*...

;
Malahide

Malahide railway station

Malahide railway station serves Malahide in Fingal . It was built by George Papworth for the Dublin and Drogheda Railway and opened on 25 May 1844....

;
Donabate

Donabate railway station

Donabate railway station serves Donabate in Fingal. Donabate railway station is owned by Iarnród Éireann. The station has two platforms, one for each of the two lines which runs through the station. Built in the mid-19th century, the station has a traditional appearance. The building has a small...

;
Rush and Lusk

Rush and Lusk railway station

Rush and Lusk railway station serves the towns of Rush and Lusk in County Dublin, Ireland.The station opened on 25 May 1844. The station was also featured in one scene in the biopic, Michael Collins.- External links :*...

;
Skerries

Skerries railway station

Skerries railway station serves Skerries in County Dublin, Ireland. The station opened on 25 May 1844.- External links :*...

;
Balbriggan

Balbriggan railway station

Balbriggan railway station serves Balbriggan in County Dublin. It is the northern limit of the Dublin suburban rail network and of the short hop zone.The station opened on 25 May 1844 and closed for goods traffic on 2 December 1974...

;
Gormanston

Gormanston railway station

Gormanston railway station opened in May 1845 and serves Gormanston in County Meath, Ireland.- External links :*...

;
Laytown

Laytown railway station

Laytown railway station serves Laytown and Bettystown in County Meath, Ireland. The station opened on 25 May 1844 and was renamed as Laytown & Bettystown in 1913. It was since renamed back to Laytown. It is about 20 minutes' walk from the venue of yearly Laytown races.- External links :*...

;
Bettystown

Bettystown railway station

Bettystown railway station was a railway station in County Meath, Ireland, on the Dublin and Drogheda Railway line, serving the village of Bettystown.The station was opened on 25 May 1844 and closed on 1 November 1847.-References:...

;
Drogheda

Drogheda railway station

Drogheda MacBride railway station serves Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. There is a railcar servicing depot for commuter trains here.The original Drogheda station opened on 25 May 1844 about a quarter mile southeast. The passenger station was resited when the first temporary Boyne Viaduct...

.

In 1845 a new railway company, Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway

Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway

Dublin and the Belfast Junction Railway was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1845 and opened its line in stages between 1849 and 1853....

 (D&BJct), received royal assent for its Act to connect the D&D at Drogheda

Drogheda

Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....

 to the Ulster Railway

Ulster Railway

The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway .-History:...

 at Portadown

Portadown

Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

, therefore creating a rail link between Dublin and Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 when the line was completed in 1852.

The Northern Railway of Ireland

Northern Railway of Ireland

Northern Railway of Ireland was an Irish gauge railway company in Ireland.It was formed by a merger of the Dublin and Drogheda Railway with the Dublin and the Belfast Junction Railway in 1875. In 1876 it merged with the Irish North Western Railway and Ulster Railway to form the Great Northern...

was formed by a merger of the D&D with the D&BJct in 1875.