This privately published book covers the operation of the Belfast to Cavehill tramway, officially known as the Belfast & Cavehill Railway Company Limited, from incorporation to closure to subsequent events.
Incorporated in 1834, this mineral line opened in 1840 and closed 56 years later in 1896. 4'9" gauge with horse and gravity as its motive power, its purpose was to provide a means of transport for limestone from a quarry on the southern flank of Cavehill outside Belfast to Belfast Harbour where the company had a depot.
If there is one serious problem with this publication, it is the lack of a map, to scale or otherwise, showing the location of the line, no trace of which remains today. That the author has deviated from the course of the railway history (no double meanings intended!) and brought in other aspects of industrial heritage is another, but minor point. Perhaps a better title along the lines of 'Cavehill, an industrial and social history' should have been adopted.
Nonetheless, even bearing these caveats in mind, the book is an interesting account of a little known railway, with information on other industrial heritage aspects within its geographic area.