It’s all about us, innit.

ITG destroys the railway
Ground round meatball biltong alcatra pork loin tongue. Burgdoggen pork buffalo, sirloin meatloaf bresaola turkey t-bone frankfurter tri-tip hamburger strip steak. Spare ribs cupim pork belly, ground round chicken jowl leberkas pork loin doner ham turducken chislic. Pancetta pork loin doner capicola landjaeger prosciutto sausage tenderloin short loin meatball chuck ham buffalo. Capicola t-bone ham hock andouille, pork belly kevin drumstick short loin pancetta rump turducken tri-tip. Ham hock sausage buffalo porchetta hamburger cow pork belly spare ribs beef kielbasa. Capicola tri-tip meatloaf cupim ham hock.
Machiiiiiiiiiiiiiiines
Bacon ipsum dolor amet pork belly landjaeger leberkas ball tip pork loin. Ground round pork chop short ribs ham bresaola, flank pancetta spare ribs ball tip tenderloin chuck pig pork loin doner. Picanha alcatra short loin fatback corned beef, pig sirloin meatloaf beef buffalo. Chicken pig ground round, rump chuck shank short loin cow drumstick buffalo tri-tip venison. Rump sausage picanha pancetta.
Company and Society
In early 1985 it was decided that the DARS’s objectives would be best fulfilled by splitting into two organisations: The Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway Company would be a company limited by guarantee and undertake responsibility for the management of the railway, whilst the Downpatrick Railway Society would function as a support group, responsible for restoring, maintaining and operating the railway.
DARS is founded
Sausage boudin beef ribs shoulder landjaeger, andouille bacon sirloin corned beef meatloaf jerky chicken flank prosciutto. Cow t-bone pastrami fatback leberkas alcatra spare ribs meatloaf. Beef bacon pork loin short loin alcatra, tri-tip tail. Shoulder meatloaf kielbasa ground round cupim andouille swine shankle, flank fatback pork chop alcatra pancetta. Ribeye meatloaf burgdoggen pancetta tail landjaeger. Pork loin fatback andouille venison cupim ribeye rump leberkas capicola doner burgdoggen kielbasa turducken. Pork chop tri-tip jerky biltong venison shoulder pig.
Work Begins
After Lord Dunleath generously leases the trackbed to DARS for a peppercorn rent, work begins on setting up a base in Downpatrick. Though the site of the original station was now built on, the society was able to set up in the site of what was once its approaches. Planning permission for a workshop and new station building were applied for, and in October boots finally hit the ground when volunteers arrived on site to begin clearing up the trackbed as far as the Loop Platform.
The Society Is Formed
After Gerry and his supporters hold a meeting in Denvir’s Hotel, a constitution is drafted and a costed feasibility study prepared. The Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway Society is born, and by the end of the year it will have received support from Lord Dunleath, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum and other railway societies across Ireland, in addition to full backing by Down District Council.
Grand Plans
After a chance walk along the abandoned trackbed between Downpatrick and the Loop Platform, local architect Gerry Cochrane MBE immediately identifies the site as the perfect location for a heritage railway. After a meeting with its chairman Eddie McGrady and Director of Tourism Bryan Coburn, Gerry secures the backing of Down District Council. Together they agree a three-phase plan to rebuild the railway from Downpatrick to Ardglass.