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Santa Appears on BBC Newsline!
Saturday, 16th December 2006

The arrival of Santa in Northern Ireland is obviously a big deal, so this weekend the Jolly Man in the Red Suit welcomed some special visitors in the shape of a crew from BBC Northern Ireland's regional news programme Newsline.

Screen-capture of the opening shot	Santa is interviewed

Click the links below to watch the video
Windows Media Format
Real Media Format

Successful Second Weekend Visit by Santa!
Sunday, 10th December 2006

Santa returned to the DCDR this weekend as part of his three week visit to Downpatrick, which ends next weekend - the 16th & 17th - so if you haven't given the Big Man your Christmas wish-list, then you better hurry!

DCDR Chairman Mike Collins helps Santa's Elves sort Santa's Presents in theTravelling Post Office carriage	Queue for your tickets here!
Santa proves a crowd puller with the visitors!	The station at night time after the last train has pulled out of the platform (with webmaster in shot!!)

All photos by Robert Gardiner except Picture 4 (Station at Night) - by Wilson Adams

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So here it is, Merry Christmas - Everybody's Having Fun (at Downpatrick!)
Sunday, 3rd December 2006

Santa steamed into the Downpatrick & County Down Railway today, as part of his three weekend visit to Downpatrick.

Although Santa's schedule is fairly packed at this time of year, he always takes time out to pay us a visit, and here's some of the hardy folk who braved the unusually harsh storms we experienced this weekend to see him!

Santa will be at Downpatrick for the next two weekends (9th & 10th/16th & 17th).

Boarding the train	Santa with driver Jeff Spencer & fireman Ian Cross
The Preston family from Belfast	Santa entertains passengers with a sing-a-long
The Quinn family from Kilkeel give up their seat to an elderly passenger	Three big kids from the DCDR want to know what Santa's going to bring them for Christmas (from left to right: John Wilson, Paul Martin, Raymond Dougan & Santa Claus)
Father Christmas takes an unexpected call from his wife Mary, who's asking him to bring home some milk	Santa tells Jeff that Rudolph's quite jealous of his new mode of transport

All photos by Robert Gardiner

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DCDR Drivers Take GSWR No. 90 out for a Spin!
Monday, 20th November 2006

The restoration of GSWR No. 90 by our friends at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's base at Whitehead is nearly complete, and drivers from Downpatrick spent a day with the RPSI team yesterday, 19th November, to learn how the diminitive looking beastie operates.

No. 90, as reported earlier, is on loan to the DCDR from Irish Rail, the state railway operator of the Republic of Ireland, who still own her.

Although small looking, the wee engine can fair shift her weight, and during recent trials at Whitehead proved her pulling power by hauling several RPSI carriages and former NIR hunslet engine 102! No mean feat for an 1875-built engine - and one of the oldest operating steam engines in the world.

No. 90 is expected to arrive in Downpatrick in early 2007, and has already been painted back into it's original GSWR olive green livery, the lining of which will be completed at Downpatrick.

Wilson Adam's photo site Irish Railway Images has more photographs of the familiarisation day (amongst others).

Ghostly Goings on at Downpatrick
Monday, 30th October 2006

There were spooky going ons at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway this Halloween weekend, as ghosts roamed the platform and zombies roamed the Viking's Grave...

A big thank you to all our visitors who really got into the swing of it and joined the goings-on with their own fancy dress. Below is a selection of those who got into the spirit, plus Magical Merlin himself...

Want to share your images with us? Send us your pics and see them here or in our magazine!

Steam Hauled Freight Returns to Downpatrick
Saturday, 21st October 2006

The first steam-hauled freight train to run in Ireland since probably the 1970s ran at Downpatrick at the weekend.

The freight train was made up of mixture of permanent way engineering wagons (ballast plough van pluss two hoppers) and vintage goods wagons (open and closed wagons and a 4-wheeled oil tanker) that had been in storage pending full restoration.

The train was run for a film contract for a national television documentary to be shown in the New Year - we can't say anymore but suffice to say it features a well-known face. More details will follow in due course.

Click on the picture to enlarge, and for more pics of the train, click here to go to the Irish Railway Images website.

Monk Haunts Railway - And it's Not Even Halloween Yet!
Sunday, 9th July 2006

The Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway is no stranger to taking visitors back to the past, but not in a literal sense.

So the volunteers were quite surprised to hear from a recent school trip to Inch Abbey that the monk that showed them around the ruins of the 12th Century Monastery was very good.

The school trip came back and one of our volunteers, John Henry, who knows the teacher leading the group asked if they enjoyed it, which they did, but then came the bit about the Monk.

Apparently they got a guided tour from a person dressed in full monk regalia, who seemed quite happy to show them round.

Could the railway, which runs it's very own Ghost Trains at Halloween, have it's very own pet poltergeist? One apparition is unexpected first time, but no-one predicted a second materialisation when last Sunday another of our volunteers, Oliver Rogers, said he saw John De Courcey - the founder of the Abbey - at the site, with his wife. Oliver even got to swing the Norman's broadsword, which is apparently quite heavy.

After getting in touch with the Environment and Heritage Service there's a more worldly explanation for the first apparition. Some groups hire living history re-enactors for guided tours, and in the case of the first appearance of the monk, he was expecting a visit from another school - but wasn't expecting another school group to arrive by rail!

However, the re-appearance of John De Courcey after nearly 800 years remains a mystery.

But inpsired by the monk the Downpatrick & County Down Railway and the Environment and Heritage Service are hopeful of creating some form of combined package, possibly in 2007, incorporating a steam train trip between the Abbey and Downpatrick town centre and guided tours of the Abbey site by some more earth-bound monks.

Read the Press Release

Vikings Invade the Airwaves
Saturday, 15th June 2006

Philip Campbell of the Magnus Vikings appeared on this morning's Your Place and Mine programme on BBC Radio Ulster, and John Daly's Saturday Show to talk about the Viking Village that's opening at King Magnus's Halt on our South Line.

Listen to Philip on Your Place & Mine

Listen to Philip on the John Daly Show

Visitors to the Viking Village get to see how a Viking lived, their clothing, their foods, and their children's toys. A weaponry demonstration is on hand, giving any wannabe Viking the opportunity to have a go at archery and spear throwing.

The village is open for three more days:
Saturday 22nd July, Saturday 5th August, and Saturday 19th August

DCDR News No. 2 - Now Out!
Sunday, 9th July 2006

The latest edition of DCDR News is out now, free to all members, or available for £1 at the Station Shop every running day.

You can also order one online by using the contacts page.

Topics covered in DCDR News include a review of our performance since 2005, photos of the RPSI's RH Smyth arriving at Downpatrick, news from the various departments at the railway - keeping you up-to-date with the latest goings-on in Permanent Way, Carriages & Wagons, the Loco department, etc.

There's also reviews of six books out in the shops, most available from our Station Shop, including Steaming in Three Centuries, The County Donegal Railways Companion, Chasing the Flying Snail, Railways in Ulster's Lakeland, Broken Rails and Tramway Memories.

Vikings Set to Invade the Railway
Tuesday, 4th June 2006

The Downpatrick area was the scene of Viking incursions at the turn of the First Millennium.

King Magnus Barefoot was, perhaps, the most famous of the Viking warriors who reached our shores.

On a supply run to the south Down area, he was killed by native warriors on St Bartholomew's day 24th Aug 1103, aged 30 years.

Regular visitors will know that the reputed grave of the King is located adjacent to the railway's South Line, and that there is a halt built there.

Now, local re-enactment group Magnus Vikings have erected a living history village at the gravesite.

The Magnus Vikings are well known for their role in the Magnus Barelegs Viking festival at Delamont Country Park.

Now a series of houses give visitors a feel what it was back in those times, how the Vikings lived, dressed, ate - and fought.

The Viking village will be open on the railway the following Saturdays only - 15th July, 22nd July, 5th August and the 19th August. The railway will be operating a steam train service on the south line to Magnus's Halt, and a reduced service to Inch Abbey. For trains see the timetable.

What's New on the Site
Sunday, 25th June 2006

The website has been updated quite extensively over the last two days. As well as ironing out clitches like removing the white border at the top of the page (which was particularly annoying for those viewing this site at screen-size 800x600), new pages have been added.

There is a brand new page dedicated to how you can support the DCDR in our work. This page tells you all the ways to either get involved or to donate funds or artefacts to the railway. Donations can now be received via Paypal. There's also a gift-aid form that increases your donation substantially. It applies to membership as well, so if you are a member and haven't filled it in already (a circular to those members who haven't is on it's way shortly!) please do so.

The Hire page has been significantly expanded, giving more details on what we can offer you in way of charter, hires, footplate driving course, etc., complete with guide rates.

A new Wagons section has been added to the Carriages page in the Enthusiast Section, and the Gallery has been updated with new scenic photos of your line.

Steam Engine Visits Downpatrick for Summer
Sunday, 11th June 2006

The railway has a very special visitor by the name of Harvey, who's dropping in to Downpatrick from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, based in Whitehead.

For Harvey (pictured right, crossing the Plank River bridge on the South Line), or to give his full title of No. 3 'RH Smyth', is a steam engine - built in 1928 for the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners' lines at Queen's Quay - a comparatively short railway which ran on the quays on the west side of the River Foyle.

The engine was bought from the scrapman In 1968 and since then the engine has been further than it's original owners would ever have thought possible. As well as serving as a shunting engine at Whitehead, Harvey has recently been seen in action hauling ballast trains on the Northern Ireland Railways network during the Larne line relay and the reopening of the Bleach Green line.

And who was RH Smyth? He was Chairman of the Londonderry Harbour Commissioners from 1927 to 1941, and his family owned Feed Stuff Mills in Strabane and did an extensive business in the North West. Of course, railway enthusiasts soon abbreviated this to 'Harvey'.

Our black engine, Orenstein and Koppel No. 3 (the very continental looking engine) has been in service now for 6 years and has performed exceptionally. Two more of our engines are undergoing restoration at Whitehead, but they won't be finished before No. 3 will need some routine, but time consuming maintenance.

Harvey, or as visitors might get to know him - the green engine - will be operating the DCDR's summer trains which begin Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th June, and every weekend until 10th September, with trains travelling between Downpatrick and Inch Abbey from 1.40pm till 5pm.

Read the Press Release

2006 AGM of DCDR Society Held
Saturday, 10th June 2006

The 2nd AGM of the reconstituted Downpatrick & County Down Railway Society (see news archive) was held at 11am in Downpatrick Station. The Chairman and Finance Officer presented their reports to the members present, followed by the election of members to the management team. To see who is elected to serve on the 2006/2007 Management Committee, see the About Us page. The AGM was followed by a Customer Care course for volunteers who deal with the public, and a Personal Track Safety course.

Members will receive the minutes and reports of the AGM in due course. If you're not yet a member but want to receive this information - join now!

What's New on the Site
Thursday, 1st June 2006

Changes to the site over the last week include updating the next train details and fares pages. The events pages now feature a poster inspired by original railway posters from the 1930s, with artwork by Debra Wenlock.

The news pages have also been updated, with more stories added to the main page and 2005 bulletins archived. A full set of Press Releases for 2006 are also now available online (see Press Release section on this page)

On the Sales and Wants page, there's a new appeal for enamel signs. Many thanks to everyone who replied to the request for shop shelving - the shop has now been refitted!

New Museums of Northern Ireland Leaflet Launched at Railway
Monday, 29th May 2006

The Independent Museums of Northern Ireland (IMNI) launched their new leaflet, publicising the 17 non-government museums of Northern Ireland at the Downpatrick, during the railway's new May Day bank holiday trains.

IMNI is the umbrella group for these independent museums and aims to provide mutual support for its members and of lobbying decision makers on their behalf.

Funding and support were received from the Northern Ireland Museums Council, of which all the independent museums are members.

This month is Museums and Galleries Month (from 29 April to 4 June) and representatives from IMNI at the launch included Michael Collins, as Chairman of the Downpatrick and County Down Railway and designer of the joint flyer, and Carol Conlin, Assistant Keeper of Armagh Public Library.

Michael Collins said: "In the leaflet you will discover the riches of history which for too long have been largely unknown, both to residents of Northern Ireland and to visitors." He also said that the locations of the museums have been set out, county by county, along with information such as opening times, entrance fees and illustrations of some of the exhibits on display. It is intended to have the information flyer on display at all the member museums and local tourist information centres.

Photo: Members of the Independent Museums of Northern Ireland at the launch of their information flyer with from left Carol Conlin, Armagh Public Library; Michael Collins, Chairman Downpatrick and County Down Railway and George Legge, Commerical Manager and Vice Chairman, DCDR.

Read the Press Release

Railway Celebrates Best Operating Year on Record
Friday, 5th May 2006

The final tally of our passenger figures for last year show that 2005 was the best year for the railway since 1990.

Figures are up by over 2,500 from the previous years total. The total figure for all operations in 2005 is 7,793 - up from 5,255 in 2004 and 4,192 in 2003.

From the few records that survived the 2002 Boxing Day fire, this figure beats the previous record established in 1990 of 6,040 passengers.

Railway Chairman, Michael Collins, says he and the volunteers are 'delighted' with this increase. He says, "This is a great reward for all our volunteers who have put so much work into creating Northern Ireland's only heritage railway from a green-field site".

Mr Collins says that this increase is down to the opening of the Inch Abbey extension.

"This gives people a much longer and more scenic journey than was previously the case, as well as destination that they can visit once they have arrived at the end of the line, whereas before the train was just stopping in the middle of a field in the middle of no-where".

Mr Collins also said that another remarkable trend is the growing number of people who choose to start their journey from Inch Abbey.

"In 2005, there were 238 who travelled into the town by train, which is remarkable for a railway that, for 20 years, has only had one station where you could board the train."

Another factor he cites is the recent change of the name. He said, "While it may not be apparent immediately why this should be so, the name 'Downpatrick & County Down Railway'does reflect our nature as a running heritage line rather than a static museum".

Read the Press Release

More Archive Radio Stories
Sunday, 2nd April 2006

Following the appeal on this website, we are pleased to annouce that we have been able to unearth several more exciting radio recordings about the railway. These provide a unique insight back to the early days of the then Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway - a noticeable feature in these reports is that the aim of reaching Ardglass was still high on the agenda, before it was abandoned in the mid-90s in favour of Ballydugan and Inch Abbey.

The earliest report is by Paddy O'Flaherty on the very first Halloween Ghost Trains in 1989 for Good Morning Ulster on BBC Radio Ulster. Originally broadcast Monday, 30th October, 1989.

Click HERE to listen to Paddy O'Flaherty's Report

In May 1990 Michael Collins, then General Manager, was interviewed by Leslie Dawes on Belfast Community Radio (BCR), now CityBeat, about the history of the relatively young project. Originally broadcast Saturday, 12th May, 1990.

Click HERE to listen to Pause With Dawes

Then in 1991, Ian Sinclair presented a half-hour long documentary on BBC Radio Ulster on the railway. This piece is particularly interesting as it features a number of former employees of the Belfast & County Down Railway. Originally broadcast Sunday, 10th November, 1991.

Click HERE to listen to "Steam in the Heart of Down"

As with all clips on this website, we use the RealMedia format for webcasting audio and video. In order to watch/listen, you must have "Real Player" installed on your computer, which can be downloaded free at: www.real.com

Yes, now that it's April 2nd, I can tell you that this story was an April Fools joke. Thanks to those who got in touch to show their appreciation, and to tell me to stop carping about. Also, a big "tanks" to those who didn't twig and were encouraging me to go to the national press!! Webmaster

Volunteers at the railway were stunned to find a fish happily swimming in one of the side tanks of O&K No. 3 during a routine inspection.

The O&K was being readied for its next day out this coming Easter after St. Patrick's Day, when loco officer Norman Bodel went to check the water level in the tanks. He near jumped out of his skin when something made a splash!

Steam engine supremo Barry White thought that he was kidding, and dismissed it until he peered in and saw the movement for himself. Lucky for the loco team, George Legge - a keen angler - was there and by chance had his fishing gear still in the car from a trip the previous day.

After fishing the poor fish out of the tank, George was able to identify the fish as a gudgeon, a small freshwater fish of the Cyprinid family, found in lakes and rivers throughout the UK and Ireland. Normally the gudgeon can be found in stillwaters, canals and rivers, feeding on such things as midges, caddis-fly and may-fly larvae, rather than the water tanks of steam engines!

Railway staff are baffled how the fish got there. One theory is that the poor fish might have been caught by a heron or similar fish-eating bird, which then dropped the fish as it was flying over the station - with the lucky fish falling into the water tower. Then it could have been sucked into the steam engine when it was being filled up on St. Patrick's Day.

This certainly is one lucky fella, having had three near-misses - especially not to have been sucked into the boiler once in the water tank of the engine.

The fish was released back into the Quoile River, hopefully to have a long and healthy life.

CCTV Now Operational at Railway
Friday, 24th March 2006

The Downpatrick & County Down Railway is now protected by a £5,000 CCTV system, installed by local firm Spa Security Solutions. After a spate of break-ins and vandalism attacks against the railway, ranging from stone-throwing, break-ins to a major arson attack on Christmas 2006 that nearly destroyed the historic station building, the railway has been given a grant by the Northern Ireland Museums Council for a state-of-the-art
system to deter would-be intruders.

Railway chairman, Michael Collins, says that he is delighted with the new system. "In the past the police have usually had a few leads as to who may have been responsible for the various crimes committed against us," he says, "But the main stumbling block has always been finding hard evidence to bring forward prosecutions." He continues, "We're now confident that we will now have that evidence should anyone in the future think that the railway is a place where they can get away with crimes - no part of our yard will be safe for them."

Read the Press Release

Loch Lao Go Down a Storm on the Shamrock Specials!
Sunday, 19th March 2006

If you weren't fortunate to hear the Loch Lao Traditional Music Society's member providing a "rail good session" on the train, don't panic - you can still catch up on the crack at downrail.co.uk, as Robert Gardiner just happened to have his minidisc and microphone with him...

Click HERE to hear the musicians

All Aboard for the Shamrock Specials!
Sunday, 12th March 2006

The Downpatrick & County Down Railway kicks off this year's train services with the St. Patrick's Day 'Shamrock Specials.' Organised as part of the town's festival celebrations, the steam train will be used for excursions to and from the parade ground from 1.30pm till 5pm.

And as a special treat this year, Belfast based traditional music group 'The Loch Lao Musicians' will be providing passengers a "Rail Session" on the train. Band member, Patrick Davey, says that the band is delighted to be playing at the railway.

"It certainly a different venue from the norm on St. Patrick's Day! We know that the railway's trains have always been a key feature of the St. Patrick's festival, and we're please to try and make the day even more special for their passengers."

He continues, "We will be in the ticket office at the start of the day, and then actually on board the train for two hours, from 2:30pm until 4:30pm. Thankfully we're not having to actually fire up the steam engine as well, as I'm not sure how our fingers would bear up!"

Read the Press Release

New Archive Radio Stories
Friday, 24th February 2006

New gems from the radio archives of BBC Northern Ireland have been unearthed. The first is a fascinating insight into the very early years of the railway - this episode of "The Fathom Line", a series of programmes presented by Rowan Hand, was recorded in November 1987 - one month before the railway was due to open to the public.

Click HERE to listen to "The Fathom Line"

A more recent radio story (or package, as the industry calls them) from Radio Ulster's Evening Extra show in 2000 has also been rediscovered. In it, Eddie O'Gorman visits the Halloween Ghost Trains, and has some good voxpops of the visiting children and their impressions of Merlin.

Click HERE to listen to Eddie O'Gorman's Report

The railway was also in the spotlight again when the Museums Council awarded us full museum status in 2002, and Paddy O'Flaherty speaks to some familiar Downpatrick voices for Good Morning Ulster, as well as Down District Council Officers.

Click HERE to listen to Paddy O'Flaherty's Report

Nine months later, the railway was back in the news - this time because of the arson attack on the railway on Boxing Day 2002. The news was carried throughout the day by Radio Ulster's news bulletins, and Good Morning Ulster covered the story with a three-way interview between presenter Wendy Austin and former General Manager Edwin Gray and Down District Councillor Anne Trainor.

Click HERE to listen to the Radio Ulster News Bulletin
Click HERE to listen to the Good Morning Ulster Interview

Good Morning Ulster returned to the railway less than a month later to check up on how the reconstruction work was progressing. This report by Homara Choudhary has to be unique in packages about heritage railways for its use of dance music in the intro...

Click HERE to listen to Homara Choudary's Report

Our sincere thanks go to the folks in BBC Information and Archives. If you know of an old radio or TV story not listed on this page, or have a recording of it, please get in touch with us.

New Steamer for Downpatrick Now at Whitehead!
Monday, 13th February 2006

The last steam engine still in state-ownership, either side of the border, Great Southern & Western Railway No. 90 was taken from Iarnrod Eireann's main works at Inchicore to the RPSI's depot in Whitehead.

Although ultimately it will run again at Downpatrick - the little steamer needs some much-needed TLC, having not steamed in over a decade, and to save on transport cost was taken to Whitehead direct for overhaul.

One of the oldest steam locomotives left in Ireland, little No. 90 was originally part of steam-railmotor (i.e., it actually had a carriage physically built onto it, and could be controlled from the other end). This was later removed in 1915.

Three Point Turn at Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway
Sunday, 15th January 2006

Last Saturday evening, as the sun set over the distant Mournes, the Downpatrick & County Down Railway's (DCDR) locomotive No. 3 became the first steam engine to be turned on the Downpatrick Loop Triangle for more than half a century.

The Downpatrick Loop was a feature of the railway network in County Down for over half a century, but was consigned to history when the Belfast and County Down Railway network south of the Belfast-Bangor line was closed in 1950.

"The completion of the triangle makes the DCDR unique amongst all the heritage railways of the UK and Ireland - no other preserved line possesses one. Another aspect is that completion of this track means that the railway is fully restored along all the old BCDR trackbed in our ownership.

The triangle could allow for an interesting train operation. Trains could run from Ballydugan to Inch Abbey via the triangle stopping at the Loop Platform, and people could then change onto another train at the platform.

The completion of the triangle has more tangible benefits in the short term, as it allows stock to be turned. The first was O&K No. 3, which now travels into Downpatrick chimney first so that visitors get the best view of her when she arrives.

Read the Press Release

What do you think? Would you like to change trains at the Loop Platform? Email us with your thoughts via the Contacts page.