In the summer of 1881, Mr. W.A.  Traill, late of H.M.  Geological Survey, suggested to Dr. Siemens that the line between Portrush and Bushmills, for which Parliamentary powers had been obtained, would be suitable in many respects for electrical working, especially as there was abundant water power available in the neighborhood.  Dr. Siemens at once joined in the undertaking, which has been carried out under his direction.  The line extends from Portrush, the terminus of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, to Bushmills in the Bush valley, a distance of six miles.  For about half a mile the line passes down the principal street of Portrush, and has an extension along the Northern Counties Railway to the harbor.  For the rest of the distance, the rails are laid on the sea side of the county road, and the head of the rails being level with the ground, a footpath is formed the whole distance, separated from the road by a curbstone.  The line is single, and has a gauge of three feet, the standard of the existing narrow gauge lines in Ulster.  The gradients are exceedingly heavy, as will be seen from the diagram, being in parts as steep as 1 in 35.  The curves are also in many cases very sharp, having necessarily to follow the existing road.  There are five passing places, in addition to the sidings at the termini and at the carriage depot.  At the Bushmills end, the line is laid for about 200 yards along the street, and ends in the marketplace of the town.  It is intended to connect it with an electrical railway from Dervock, for which Parliamentary powers have already been obtained, thus completing the connection with the narrow gauge system from Ballymena to Larne and Cushendall.  About 1,500 yards from the end of the line, there is a waterfall on the river Bush, with an available head of 24 feet, and an abundant supply of water at all seasons of the year.  Turbines are now being erected, and the necessary works executed for employing the fall for working the generating dynamo machines, and the current will be conveyed by means of an underground cable to the end of the line.  Of the application of the water power it is unnecessary to speak further, as the works are not yet completed.  For the present, the line is worked by a small steam-engine placed at the carriage depot at the Portrush end.  The whole of the constructive works have been designed and carried out by Mr. Traill, assisted by Mr. E.B.  Price.

The system employed may be described as that of the separate conductor.  A rail of T-iron, weighing 19 pounds to the yard, is carried on wooden posts, boiled in pitch, and placed ten feet apart, at a distance of 22 inches from the inside rail and 17 inches above the ground.  This rail comes close up against the fence on the side of the road, thus forming an additional protection.  The conductor is connected by an underground cable to a single shunt-wound dynamo machine, placed in the engine shed, and worked by a small agricultural