80 Class update – the final mile?
We may not have posted much in the way of 80 class updates lately, but activity on the set has been far from quiet. Recent weeks have seen the team tackle the last few bodywork “niggles” on power car 69 with a vengeance, with virtually all the filling work now completed. We have taken extensive […]
Seen & Unseen brings eerie experience to Downpatrick
On Saturday evening as most of our tired volunteers were heading home, our Carriage Gallery was opening its doors for a rare nocturnal event here at DCDR: a story-telling session presented by local historian and performer Robert J.E. Simpson, recounting some of Northern Ireland’s most macabre and unusual local tales. We couldn’t quite offer ghost […]
Right away Mr Guard!
Right away, Mr Guard! Easter was not only an exciting time for the hundreds of families coming to see the Easter Bunny and making off with yummy chocolate eggs, it was a pretty exciting time on Easter Sunday for trainee Des Sage. Des was doing his assessment to pass out as guard, after putting in […]
An Eggcellent Weekend
Our Easter Eggspress weekend proved to be a busy two days. We carried many happy families in our Victorian-era heritage carriages up and down the line. 121 class locomotive, 124, provided the motive power. After each trip, we took them to meet one very bubbly Easter Bunny, who had set up a stall in our […]
A roof over our heads
We’ve got a roof over our heads! At long last, the Maghera Shed locomotive shed is (mostly) watertight, the first time since before Storm Ciaran and the floods. C Mason Steelwork have been working diligently over the last few weeks. They have been dealing with nice rotten surprises and fussy railway volunteers. However, the smoke […]
DCDR provides filming location for Crookhaven
Have you been watching Crookhaven this week? If you have, you may have noticed a familiar looking station in the first five minutes of Episode 1… Our very own Loop Platform serves as Moorheart Station, a mysterious halt in the middle of nowhere surrounded on all sides by trees and shrubbery. It was the perfect […]
Fintown track team visit
We love working with other Irish railway heritage groups. It was a pleasure recently to welcome a team from Cumann Traenach na Gaeltachta Láir, the Fintown Railway, recently. The team are preparing to install new points on their railway, and came here to receive advice on permanent way work from our own Chief Civil Engineer, […]
Morgan gets his driver’s licence
St Patrick’s Day was not just a busy one for our many passengers, it was a long, hard day’s work for our train crew, especially for Morgan Young who was being put through his GM loco driver’s exam. So now you know what the L plate on 121 Class loco 124 was for. To cut […]
Carriage woes
The legacy of not being able to run trains for a prolonged period continues. With a myriad of other tasks to be dealt with post-flood, it is only now that our carriage team has managed to turn its attention to the ‘green set’, i.e. UTA ‘Festival coach’ 728 and CIÉ Park Royal carriage 1944. Some […]
Jack passes his digger exam
Congratulations to Jack Turner who passed his digger exam last week! We assess machine operators on our railway to a high standard before they can operate as part of our permanent way team. It’s always good to have a new operator to spread the work a bit more evenly. As a relatively recent volunteer, Jack […]