Original 1859 Vintage Rails Discovered at Downpatrick
An ‘amazing’ discovery has been made at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway during construction works for a new museum building. Eight length of wrought-iron ‘bridge rail’, dating from the construction of the original line from Belfast in 1859, have been unearthed as the foundations were being dug for the £500,000 carriage gallery building, funded […]
A ‘Baby Shower’ With a Difference
The DCDR is pleased to announce that the official launch of the new “baby GM” at Downpatrick – former Irish Rail engine No. 146, will take place on March 5th. The event is prebooked only, and is organised by the loco’s owners, the Irish Traction Group for what will be the first passenger working in […]
BBC Evening Extra Talks to Desmond Coakham
The launch of Desmond Coakham’s book, “The Belfast & County Down Railway”, was covered in today’s edition of BBC Radio Ulster’s drive-time news programme, Evening Extra. The event to place on the 61st Anniversary of the closure of the BCDR, and saw the veteran author and expert on the Belfast & County Down Railway made […]
Book Recalling Much Loved Railway Launches at Downpatrick
The old Belfast & County Down Railway still manages to capture people’s imagination sixty one years after it was closed, and now a new ‘definitive’ book about this line is to be launched at the BCDR’s successor in Downpatrick on the anniversary of the line’s closure. This book is written by Desmond Coakham, who turns […]
Our Wee World of Trains
Regular visitors to the DCDR might have noticed something familiar on their TV screen this week, as a BBC1 trail shows our steam engine O&K No. 3, whisked back in time to the 1940s. This is because the DCDR provided the location for a television programme produced by Barking Films for BBC1 NI. “Our Wee […]
American Baby Boomer adopted by Downpatrick Railway
The railway stork has delivered an early Christmas present to the Downpatrick & County Down Railway – a 1960s ‘baby’ diesel locomotive. This rather large ‘baby’ arrived in the early hours of Saturday morning on the back of a specialised low-loader. The ‘baby’ is yet to be christened, and only goes by the number “146”. […]
Obituary – Albert Sage
ALBERT SAGE It is with regret that we have to announce the death of Albert Sage (right), who passed away on 2nd October. Albert was for a long time Infrastructure Manager in the early days of the railway and helped pioneer the techniques that saw the construction of first ever fully-closed railway in Ireland to […]
Farewell to Loco Shed as Gallery Moves In
It’s all change at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, as work begins to prepare the way for the new £500,000 Heritage Lottery and Northern Ireland Tourist Board funded ‘Carriage Display Gallery’. This work involves the clearing of the site, and most noticeably the demolition of the old steam engine shed. Railway volunteers have described […]
New Railway Stamps Launched at Downpatrick
Downpatrick helped celebrate the launch of a new Royal Mail set of stamps that feature a Northern Irish locomotive for the first time.Great British Railways, issued on 19 August, features some of the classic locomotives which powered their way around the UK. The set also marks the 50th anniversary of the building of the last […]
Carriage Gallery Receives Lottery Funding
Downpatrick & County Down Railway are celebrating the news that the local heritage railway has secured a grant of £450,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding was awarded to the volunteer-run heritage railway museum and will be used to construct a Carriage Viewing Gallery that will allow visitors to learn more about Ireland’s important […]