Optimism for great year at Downpatrick railway

Optimism for great year at Downpatrick railway

8 January 2025

FOURTEEN months on from the devastating flood which swamped the Downpatrick and Co Down Railway, officials are aiming to make 2025 one of the charity’s best ever.

Last year ended with the return of the hugely popular Lapland Express trains which attracted almost 2,000 visitors.

In its final bulletin of 2024, volunteers say there is no doubt the heritage railway is a well-loved institution in the local community, with the charity shortlisted in the Heritage Railway Association Awards demonstrating the regard the charity is also held within the wider heritage railway community.

Determined to make 2025 – which marks the railway’s 40th anniversary – one of its best years yet, the charity said one heartening result of the November 2023 flooding disaster was the influx of new volunteers who are already doing transformative work.

And officials believe that with more volunteers it could achieve more. 

Last year, more sidings were laid and signals installed, with more locomotives, railcars, and carriages restored in tandem with station improvements. The railway has described the future possibilities as “endless”.

Railway chairman Robert Gardiner said while the Lapland Express trains bring in a huge amount of the charity’s income, what matters more to him are the smiling mums and dads and especially the faces of little visitors lighting up when Santa comes to see them.

“We had close to 2,000 visitors on our Lapland Express this year—maybe slightly down on previous years, but that’s mainly due to the capacity of 458 and the loss of one day’s operation to Storm Darragh,” he said, confident more seats could have been filled.

“There was no steam this year and we still don’t have access to the Maghera Shed, while our steam-hauled carriages are still in need of repairs following a vandal attack.”:

Mr Gardiner said the railway had hoped to be able to turn out its 80 Class Nos 69 and 749 in time, explaining that although the interior work was virtually complete, the bodywork was far from finished. 

“With that in mind, we reluctantly decided to operate with Thumper 458. Naturally, this wasn’t without some grumbles and there were a few ‘heap’ comments from some quarters and not entirely unjustified,” he said.

However, set decorator, Laura Graham, achieved the impossible, making the interior of 458 look festive and magical and the things we can achieve inside that Castle Class unit continue to amaze me.”

Having said that, Mr Gardiner explained the unit is getting a bit tired after 12 years of retirement and will need significant TLC, both cosmetically and electrically.

Meanwhile, the railway’s winter season wrapped up with the return of the festive afternoon teas for the first time since 2019.

Moving away from operations, Mr Gardiner said the volunteers have more awards ceremonies ahead.

The charity has been shortlisted in the Heritage Railway Association’s awards for Achievement of the Year and Team of the Year, recognising its flood recovery efforts.

In addition, the local railway is now officially a member of Social Enterprise NI, the representative body for social enterprises and entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland.

“We look forward to working with them in the coming months,” continued Mr Gardiner.

“Already, we’ve seen opportunities to use other social enterprises as suppliers, especially for merchandise, ensuring our hard-earned money stays within the sector to help others, rather than heading off to corporate shareholders.”

Mr Gardiner continued: “This year marks the 40th anniversary of a small band of enthusiasts setting up the Downpatrick and Ardglass Railway Company Ltd and we hope to have some fantastic events to mark this milestone. 

“But as we look to our anniversary year, challenges from the November 2023 flood remain in terms of the site and rolling stock.”

The railway chairman revealed plans to redevelop the station area to replace the current “building site” look between the station and the Gallery and revealed that behind the scenes, officials are working on “exciting redevelopment plans to future-proof the railway” building capacity for both trains and facilities. 

“As part of this, we’re exploring options for a site away from the floodplain where we can stable our carriages under cover. No promises, though—this is painstaking work being done by a few dedicated people and it’s hard to know where to start,” said.

Mr Gardiner said officials also need to decide which vehicle comes into the workshop next. 

“At the moment, I’m torn between 1918 and the old buffet 2419. Our loco-hauled set currently consists of only two carriages and that needs to change. 

“One advantage of 1918 is that it’s a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, but 2419 has the appeal of being an on-train buffet car, which we’ve found is wildly popular. It should be a quicker job.”

Mr Gardiner said additional plans for 2025 include line upgrades and expanding the training programme for new entrants to the railway sector.