Railway reopens again
After nearly 12 months of hard work repairing tracks, rolling stock, complex insurance claims and government inspections, the railway finally reopens to the public at Halloween.
HRA Young Volunteer of the Year award
Jonathan King wins the Heritage Railway Association’s ‘Young Volunteer of the Year’ award.
New permanent way vehicles arrive
A busy two days sees three ballast hoppers and a plough van arrive from Iarnród Éireann, and a tamper and VMT track maintenance machine arrive from Translink.
Disaster strikes
At the end of a season of very successful year of steam and diesel trains and popular events, the railway and town are hit by devastating flooding, once more closing the railway to the public.
Full reopening post-Covid
The railway reopens fully to the public in the summer for the first time since Covid. Services are run by ‘Derry Girls’ star diesel railcar 458, with the steam locomotives out of service pending boiler inspections.
Christmas trains resume
Christmas trains are running again with our new on board Santa experience, with Covid measures and distancing in place – our first public trains since 2019.
Derry Girls
Derry Girls episode ‘Stranger on a Train’ is filmed, DCDR’s longest-ever and most complex filming contract.
Pandemic forces closure
The railway closes to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with all events cancelled and volunteering severely restricted.