Located in the
former railway station at Downpatrick, the Downpatrick Railway Heritage
Society which runs the only full size steam railway in Ireland,
is staffed by a group of dedicated volunteers, they offer short
steam train rides along the track which formerly connected the town
with Newcastle and Belfast, There
is a halt near Inch Abbey, passengers
can disembark there, visit the Abbey and catch one of the trains
back.
Downpatrick Railway gives you an excellent
opportunity to experience the era of steam travel shunted into obscurity
in the late 50's early 60's of the last century by the advent of
the diesel locomotive.
The many thousands of children who
are avid fans of Thomas The Tank Engine would surely appreciate the opportunity
to experience the sight's, sound's and smell's of the steam age which
contributed so significantly to economic development and prosperity of
the country, and gave many children and indeed adults from inland towns
an opportunity to visit the seaside resorts of the country using the special
excursion trains which ran at holiday times.
Recently the society has installed
a video surveillance system after being plagued by a spate of vandalism,
resulting in broken windows and arson attempts on carriages and station
buildings.
June 2007: it is hoped, subject to
land acquisition to extend the line as far as Ballydugan
Mill a former corn mill now converted into a hotel. If the Ballydugan
Mill extension goes ahead it will mean more line to travel on by the tourists
and more hard work for the volunteers. Why not get yourselves to Downpatrick,
enjoy a trip down memory lane for the older among us, and give the kids
or grandchildren a memorable day out, while supporting a worthy cause.
A BBC1 Northern Ireland documentary on the
DCDR called "Raising Steam" will be broadcast on Monday
14th January at 10.35. For those of you not in Northern Ireland
- if you've got Sky you can watch it on Channel 973. The documentary
commemorates 20 years since the DCDR first ran a passenger train,
and 60 years since the nationalisation of the majority of the railways
in Northern Ireland.
Visit Downpatrick Railway
website to learn more about their excellent work, view images of
the trains and learn about the history of railways in Ireland.
