page_title: Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway
section_title: Transfer to road operations
hierarchical_section_title: Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway / Transfer to road operations
caption_attribution_description: A Wright Handybus body on Dennis Dart chassis, operated by Swilly Bus Company, in Derry bus station.
context_page_description: The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company was an Irish public transport and freight company that operated in parts of County Londonderry and County Donegal between 1853 and 2014. Incorporated in June 1853, it once operated 99 miles of railways. It began the transition to bus and road freight services in 1929. It closed its last railway line in July 1953 but continued to operate bus services under the name Lough Swilly Bus Company until April 2014, becoming the oldest railway company established in the Victorian era to continue trading as a commercial concern into the 21st century. Following a High Court petition by HM Revenue and Customs, the company went into liquidation and operated its final bus services on 19 April 2014.
context_section_description: From 1929 the company began to acquire bus assets throughout Donegal. Further expansion followed rapidly. It entered profitability in the early 1930s as a result of these ventures. Acquisition of freight operations followed, and this led to a reduction of rail services and eventual closure of lines. The Carndonagh branch was closed in about 1935 and the Burtonport line closing entirely in 1940, with a section temporarily re-opening in 1941 to Gweedore, closing finally in 1947. The Buncrana section of the line lost its passenger service in 1948, with its freight service, and the remaining Letterkenny services all closing on 8 August 1953.
  Following the cessation of all rail services, the company provided only road transport. It purchased second-hand vehicles from a number of operators, including Ulsterbus, and obtained vehicles on loan from CIÉ. The company operated passenger bus services, freight services, and holiday tour services, as well as providing school bus services for many schoolchildren in Donegal. However, it failed to be profitable throughout the 1970s, and was purchased from bankruptcy by Patrick Doherty, a Buncrana businessman, in 1981. The company maintained offices at the Foyle Street Bus Depot in Derry, and in  Letterkenny Bus Depot in Donegal. It also had large garage areas in Derry and Letterkenny, where it kept its fleet of buses. The majority of its bus fleet, with the exception of those used for holiday touring, was more than 10 years old, mainly considering of 1994 registered Dennis Dart vehicles.
  An attempt to withdraw bus services from Donegal in June 2003 met with resistance because the services were seen as crucial not only to schools but also to the elderly and rural population of Donegal. The company finally went into liquidation and ceased operations in 2014.
  Bus routes operated :
  Route 952 Letterkenny-Kerrykeel/Fanad
  Route 953 Letterkenny-Gweedore/Dungloe
  Route 954 Londonderry/Derry-Letterkenny
  Route 955 Londonderry/Derry-Carndonagh via Buncrana
  Londonderry/Derry-Culmore
  Route 956 Londonderry/Derry-Buncrana
  Route 957 Londonderry/Derry-Muff
  Route 957 Londonderry/Derry-Greencastle
  Route 959 Londonderry/Derry-Carndonagh
caption: A L&LS Wright Handybus
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