Return to Latest News

Site Update
Sunday, 18th December 2005

The train running days listings have been updated for 2006, as well as changes to the fares for the Mince Pie Specials on January 1st 2006.

New Stock At Downpatrick
Tuesday, 15th November 2005

The Downpatrick & County Down Railway was a hive of activity this weekend as carriages and engines were moved between it's Market Street base and the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's depot in Whitehead and Iarnrod Eireann's (Irish Rail) headquarters in Inchicore, Dublin.

The local heritage railway was taking delivery of a 1925 vintage railway carriage from the Great Southern and Western Railway (pictured above), and is the first at Downpatrick with the famous "side-corridor" access route into compartments.

Railway Chairman, Mike Collins, explains how the vehicle was obtained. "The vehicle was running on RPSI's main line trains - such as the Portrush Flyer - up until two years ago when new legislation came into being that restricted the use of wooden bodied vintage vehicles on the NIR network.

"We can still run them as we have our own line and our trains don't mix with NIR services," he adds.

The carriage, No. 1097, arrived on Sunday afternoon and was immediately taken out for clearance trials before being accepted into service. The vehicle will form part of Santa's "Lapland Express" this December.

On late evening last Monday, the second vehicle arrived - a pioneering diesel railcar (right) built for the rural Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, which ran to Enniskillen.

Mr. Collins says, "This vehicle is a gift to us from Irish Rail, the national railway operator in the South. It is in a relatively poor state of repair, but we're already sourcing grant aid for its restoration and hope to contract an outside agency to do the repair work."

He also says that this is the first time this vehicle has been north of the border in nearly 50 years.

Also in the move was a steam engine - identical to the little black engine loved by children across the District and County. Mr. Collins reveals that this engine, No. 1, is away to the RPSI's depot in Whitehead for overhaul.

"The RPSI are the leading experts in steam engine restoration in Ireland and beyond," states Mr. Collins, "And we know they will do an excellent restoration. Hopefully No. 1 will be completed by the time our current engine, No. 3, needs to be taken out of service for boiler overhaul - insuring that we have steam in Downpatrick for years to come."

Puckoon Film Night
Wednesday, 5th October 2005

Remember we were used as location for the film Puckoon? Haven't seen it yet? You're not the only one. The producers' distributors backed out at the last minute and the film only got a limited UK release in 2003.

However, as part of our 20th Anniversary celebrations you're invited to a free screening of the film on Thursday 13th October!

For those of you not familiar with the story, the film is based on the book by Spike Milligan and is based in the fictional village of Puckoon in Sligo, which is unceremoniously split in two when the new border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State is created.

Email the webmaster for directions and time if you wish to join us. Watch the trailer here.

Official website of the film.

Last Chance to Catch the Steam Train
Friday, 9th September 2005

This weekend is the final call for everyone to board the summer steam trains at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway.

For anyone who hasn't had the chance so far to travel by rail at its most traditional, then come down for the European Heritage Open Days this Saturday and Sunday, as after this weekend the trains won't be running until the October Halloween Ghost Trains!

Free tours of the station and workshops, showing the restoration work in progress, will be given and from 1.30pm till 5pm the steam train will be chuffing between Downpatrick and Inch Abbey.

While the tours are free, a trip on the train costs £4.50 adult return, £3.50 child return and £15 family return. Singles from either station are available on request.

For further information telephone 077 9080 2049 or log on to www.downrail.co.uk

Railway Celebrates Twenty Years with 1980s Weekend
Saturday, 27th August 2005

The 1980s are back at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway this weekend! Northern Ireland's only full-size heritage railway is celebrating it's 20th birthday this month, and is inviting it's passengers to relive the days of permed hair and Rubik's Cubes with special 1980s fares this weekend.

Railway Chairman Michael Collins said, "The railway scheme in Downpatrick was officially formed on 2nd August 1985 and, starting with a piece of waste ground, has gradually recreated a missing piece of our industrial heritage to build something that's unique in the whole of Ireland".

He continues, "To thank the many hundreds of thousands of people who've travelled with us since we ran our first train - a diesel engine and goods wagon - over 200 yards of track in the 1980s, we're rolling back our prices for one weekend only as a special birthday treat."

"It's hard to believe that we're 20 years old," Mr. Collins says, "Most preserved heritage railway schemes in Ireland have never made it to their first birthday, although it is it's own industry in Great Britain."

Fares for the weekend will be reduced from the current £4.50 adult return to Inch Abbey to the old price of £3.80 adults and £2.80 children. Guided tours of the workshops are available on request.

So, take a seat, grab a can of your favourite drink out of the railway's buffet carriage parked at the station, pretend it tastes like Quatro, and prepare your vocal chords to produce the words ''God! I remember that!'' as the station's PA system blares out 80s 'classics' and take a steam train trip down memory lane.

Site Update
Wednesday, 13th July 2005

There's a new picture on the homepage, showing Great Southern & Western Railway carriage 836 at the platform.

A new selection of six photographs are now available for download in our new Press Centre section, part of the Gallery page.

One more addition to the Sales & Wants page has been added. Click on the link to see if you can help out with any of these items.

Railway on BBC1 Tonight
Tuesday, 21st June 2005

Just a reminder that the BBC1 Northern Ireland documentary filmed at the railway (see WW2 Airmen's Escape Filmed at Downpatrick) is airing tonight at 10.35pm.

Site Update
Monday, 6th June 2005

Two more additions to the Sales & Wants page have been added. Click on the link to see if you can help out with any of these items.

DCDR on the Airwaves
Thursday, 19th May 2005

The Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway's chairman, Michael Collins was on today's BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme, which was discussing vandalism in Northern Ireland, with Michael talking about the vandal attacks that the railway has suffered.

Click here to listen

Join us for a Bit of Bash
Tuesday, 17th May 2005

The Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade, is holding a 20th Anniversary Barbeque on 28th May, and you are cordially invited!

Tickets cost £7 for adults and £3.50 children and are available from Downpatrick Fire Station on 028 4484 9308 or 070 7442 7274.

Click here to download the invitation

What's Your Story?
Saturday, 30th April 2005

Downpatrick's local heritage railway is twenty years old this year, and as part of the celebrations the railway is keen to hear from anyone who has a particularly fond memory of visiting the railway.

We would love to hear from anyone who has a story to tell about the railway - perhaps your parents brought you to visit the railway when you were a child - or you had a birthday party here, or something memorable.

It is hoped to produce a special 20th Anniversary edition of our magazine Downrail with the best stories of people's visits to our railway - and we're especially looking for photographs people have taken of their families at the railway to illustrate the stories - personal touches rather than the usual pictures of the steam train passing by.

To help promote this, Marketing Manager Robert Gardiner appeared on today's BBC Your Place and Mine program, and thanks to the good folk at the BBC it is hoped that some of these stories will also appear on the Your Place and Mine website as well.

Listen to the recording here

If you have a story to tell about the railway, you can contact Robert Gardiner either via the Contacts page on the railway's website at www.downrail.co.uk, telephone the railway on 028 4461 5779 on Saturdays, email: downtrains@yahoo.co.uk or come along in person at the railway's next public running day on May 2nd.

More improvements to the website have carried out to iron-out a few bugs that visitors have reported. Other changes include archiving some of the news on this page - they are still available so if you want to see these articles, you can get them here. The map of the project on the Visitors' Information page now separates the Inch and Ballydugan lines into a "red" and "green" lines, so passengers can see which line they will be travelling on at a particular running day. On the homepage, a new "20th Anniversary" logo has been added - more on that story in the coming weeks.

There's also a new addition to the Listen Again section on the right hand side of this page. Walter Love from BBC Radio Ulster visited the railway again for the Easter Egg Specials, which he recorded for broadcast today and features Webmaster Robert Gardiner and Station Manager Neil Hamilton talking about the Inch extension, changes to the railway and the new name, as well as the upcoming 20th anniversary since we were established. Click here to listen.

Also, check out the new Sales & Wants page, recently uploaded to see if there's anything you've got lying in your garage that can help the railway.

Any comments or feedback about the website are welcomed by the Webmaster.

WW2 Airmen's Escape Filmed at Downpatrick
Thursday, 24th March 2005

Photo: The BBC NI team in action

BBC Northern Ireland have recreated the escape of two RAF men, Bill Magrath (originally from Clones, Co. Monaghan) and Oliver Barton James, at the DCDR.

As part of the story a reconstruction was performed with two actors standing on a railway platform beside a steam train with steam billowing around them. The two RAF officers made a daring escape from a German transit camp in Rouen. Together, the two then undertook a perilous journey through Paris and occupied France to Marseilles, walking across the Pyrenees into Spain, and then successfully making their way from Gibraltar back to England.

They were subsequently decorated for their achievement, going on to advise other airmen about their experiences, so that those shot down in the war might also escape and return home.

Bill, played in the reconstruction by Michael Lavery (2nd from right in the photo) was shot down in an air-battle at Aalborg, Denmark where many of his squadron were killed, he himself was severely injured, and sent to various prisoner of war camps and hospitals before ending up at Rouen.

Despite his injuries, he successfully negotiated the epic escape and lengthy voyage together with Oliver (played by John Fitzpatrick, extreme right in photo), aided by a range of civilians from priests to doctors, and hoteliers to mountain smugglers.

This programme seeks to celebrate and bring to life their courage and bravery, as well as that of all those who assisted them in their extraordinary wartime escape and journey.

Transmission date is anticipated for around June 2005.

Final Edition of DRS News Now Out
Wednesday, 23rd March 2005

The final edition of DRS News has now been published. DRS News has been the premier source of news at Downpatrick since 1989, and its 40th edition is its swangsong.

Now that the DRS is no more, it's time for a new name. The editorial style, design and layout will remain the same.

No name has been decided yet, and while it is possible that "DRS" could just be substituted with "DCDR", the railway is open to ideas and suggestions - these should be sent to the webmaster.

DRS News is free to all members - and £1.00 for non-members. If you're not a member and want to purchase a copy, please write to the Secretary at the station address in the Contacts page, and please include a cheque or postal order for £2.00 (the cost of the magazine plus £1.00 postage and packaging).

Or Join Here and get your copy free!

Downpatrick Trains to Run to Timetable
Wednesday, 16th February 2005

Regular visitors to the railway will know that when they ask when the next train will arrive or depart, the usual response is "oh, around 15 minutes." Now that we have a terminus at the end of the line from St. Patrick's Day onwards - Inch Abbey - with the potential for passengers arriving and getting off at Inch - the railway will now be running to a set timetable, with an hourly service to Inch from Downpatrick, and trains leaving Inch 25 minutes on the hour. You can now join the train for either a single or return journey from either end of the line. Journey time is just under 20 minutes.

Trains departing for Inch Abbey are given on green dates on the Visitors' Information page, while trains running on the old south line are given in red.

A New Name - A New Beginning for Downpatrick
Sunday, 23rd January 2005

Above: The new emblem for the railway

The management committee of the Railway have ratified the members' prefered choice of new name: "The Downpatrick & County Down Railway" (see "All Change at Downpatrick"). An application to Companies House is being prepared to formally change the company name, and preparations are underway to rebrand the Co. Down attraction.

The first noticeable change is the striking new emblem, based on a traditional railway garter. Designed in-house, the emblem utilises features a monogram wreathed in shamrock. The monogram is based on an original BCDR monogram found on an artefact from Queen's Quay station, and altered to read "DCDR". The shamrock emphasises the link with St. Patrick's county. The emblem also uses the colours of the BCDR livery - maroon, straw and green, which are similar to the colours of Down District Council - similar enough to reflect our partnership but still distinct, reflecting the fact that we are not government owned, but owned by our members.

The new name will be phased in over the next couple of months, in readiness for the opening of the Inch Abbey line - so as a result, the website has regenerated!