Do
I have to book?
No! All our fares are payable directly at the ticket counter in
Downpatrick station - all you have to do is turn up. If you're bringing
a large group down, however, of say over 30 people, then it is probably
advisable to ring ahead in order to reserve your seats. We cannot
take advance bookings for groups below 10 people.
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Do
trains run only run on the days listed here?
Well, it depends on what you mean by a train! Passenger trains are
limited to those days listed on the Visitors'
Information page. However, in between public running days there
is plenty of maintenance to be done and a works train is usually
out every week, usually on Wednesdays, Mondays, Fridays or Saturdays.
There are also numerous private charters throughout the year. So,
the railway is quite busy with trains, but not necessarily always
ones that carry passengers!
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Can
I visit outside of advertised running days?
Absolutely! We work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, so
our gates are always open - just come on in and someone will take
you around the site. Please don't be upset if the first person you
speak to can't do this - there's usually a good reason, like drying
paintbrushes, glue drying, or someone left up a ladder looking a
tool!
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Are
dogs allowed?
Dogs are welcome, the only restriction is the buffet carriage, for
obvious reasons. Guide dogs are most welcome, and travel free.
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Can
you take Visa/Mastercard/etc.?
Yes, we can now take credit cards.
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You
say you're the only steam railway in Ireland, what about so and
so?
No, we say that we're the only operating full-size heritage railway
in Ireland, our friends at the RPSI in Whitehead operate on NIR
and Irish Rail tracks - they don't have their own line, and our
friends in the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway, Fintown,
etc., are all narrow gauge railways (i.e. the width between the
rails is 3ft, not 5ft 3in). For instance, an NIR train could run
on our lines but not at the Giant's Causeway.
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Are
you part of the RPSI?
No, we're an independent organisation although many of our members
have RPSI membership and vice versa, since we all love the same
thing - just in a different context. Our two organisations do belong
to the umbrella Heritage Railway Association.
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Where
does the train go?
From 2005 the trains have been running just over two miles to the
ruins of the Cistercian Inch Abbey, and when this opened it was
the first time we actually had a destination, rather than just stopping
the train in the middle of a field.
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Do
you have a circle of track?
No! Our line is built on an original railway line that was closed
in 1950 - so the lines did go somewhere back in the past - it's
not like a toy train set! Although we do have a triangle of track,
which is an original feature of the BCDR layout.
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I
thought you were called...
You're probably right. We've had various names over the past. We
started off life as the Downpatrick and Ardglass Railway (D&AR)
as we had originally to completely reopen the old BCDR branch line
to Ardglass. This was then dropped and Downpatrick Steam Railway
adopted in its place (although D&AR remained as the official
company name for sometime) but with perfect timing the boiler ticket
on 'Guinness' expired and we had to adopt "Downpatrick Railway
Museum" which was used from 1996-2005. There was also a supporter's
association known as the Downpatrick Railway Society (DRS).
In
2003 a Down District Council sponsored survey into the railway concluded
that quite a few potential visitors thought that the railway was
a smaller version of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, and as
they had visited there, why would they want to visit another? A
similar result was discovered by a University of Ulster student's
thesis.
An opinion poll was carried out amongst our membership about what
name they would like the railway to be called - the choices ranged
from retention of the current name, re-adoption of Downpatrick Steam
Railway, a name that provided a link to the old railway companies
of the past - Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway (DCDR) or something
else entirely. Downpatrick Railway Museum only secured 3% of the
vote, while DCDR secured a massive 52%.
Following
amalgamation of the two organisations that ran the railway (the
DRS and the D&AR Co. Ltd. - see Latest News)
the newly elected Management Committee's first decision was to ratify
the members' choice as the new name for the organisation, with DAR
Co. Ltd. officially being dropped and "Downpatrick & County
Down Railway Society" registered with Companies House.
A new crest
for the DCDR has been designed, and the new name was officially
"launched" at the beginning of March 2005.
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I've
heard of the Belfast and County Down Railway Museum Trust, are you
them?
No, we're not. The BCDRMT was set up in the early 1970s with the
aim of restoring the BCDR Ballynahinch branch, from Ballynahinch
Junction to the town. However, the scheme was unable to get off
the ground, and while the BCDRMT still does issue various announcements
and proposals, we are in no way connected with these ventures.
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Are
you getting any of NIR's old trains?
 You're
probably referring to what are officially called the 80 Class railcars.
The simple answer is: we don't know. First of all, NIR have retained
a number for continued service, and secondly there are other issues
that we have to consider, such as cost of purchase and transport,
the usefulness of the vehicle and the availability of spare parts
to keep the unit operational.
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How
are you funded?
Mostly from the fares we charge our passengers. We also benefit
greatly from donations and sponsorship from ordinary people and
local businesses. For major projects we usually try to source grant
aid from organisations such as the Northern Ireland Museums Council,
the Heritage Lottery Fund, amongst others.
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Are
you really all volunteers?
Yes, we have around 40-50 volunteers who do everything, from
restoring coaches to rebuilding locomotives to manning the ticket
office. We only have one employee, a part time administrator funded
by Down District Council who keeps us on the right track...!
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How
can I join/volunteer?
Joining couldn't be easier, just print off the form available
here and send it in to us! To volunteer,
just bring yourself along any Wednesday or Saturday and introduce
yourself. Usually you'll given a tour of the various projects being
undertaken and you're free to work on any that take your fancy.
We know it's hard giving up a day of your weekend, and that you
mightn't be able to make it every single week, so don't let that
stop you! We don't mind how often you come down, as long as you
do!
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I'm
researching my family history, and a member of my family worked
on the railways, do you have any records?
If you are contacting
us regards research into a member of your family who might have
worked on the old BCDR, we will be happy to hear from you but cannot
guarantee that we will be able to help - most of the official records
of the BCDR went to the Public
Records Office in Belfast, and they tended not to have employment
records as we would understand them.
However
for any of the other railway companies the Irish
Railway Record Society has opened an email service at irrsie@gmail.com.
This address should be used in the first instance for anyone who
might wish to contact them with enquiries about realtives who have
most of the surviving archive material from old railway companies
in their care. The IRRS also publishes their 'Records of the Irish
Transport Genalogical Archive' which is a great help to those researching
their family history. They do not possess BCDR records however.
Other sources
of information include the 1911
census from the Irish National Archive, which has recently placed
on-line a free searchable edition of the census, which includes
images of the original census forms filled in by heads of households.
It was the last census before 1926, owing to the War of Independence
and the Civil War. It is hoped to have the 1901 census on-line by
the late spring of 2010. Records from all 32 counties are accessible,
as this was conducted by the British Government before the partition
of Ireland.
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