The Downpatrick & County Down Railway will be running steam trains on the weekend of 16th and 17th June 2018 as part of the new DownTime Festival.

The festival will feature horse racing, music and culture and is held across the Downpatrick area.

Orenstein & Koppel steam locomotive No. 1 is a German-built steam locomotive and will be in operation throughout the weekend.

Teas, coffees, cold drinks and buns will also be served all afternoon onboard the DCDR’s buffet carriage parked at Inch Abbey station.

You could also buy a Footplate Pass for £20 and get to travel up front with the driver.

Trains run at the from 1 pm to 4 pm. Fares for this event are

• Adults: £7.00
• Children: £5.00
• Senior Citizens: £6.00
• Family ticket (2A + up to 3C): £20

What did the officials say?

Downpatrick and County Down Railway Chairman Robert Gardiner said:

“We want kids to get in the saddle and gallop on down. So if they bring something ‘horsey’ with them – it doesn’t matter what, it can be clothing with pictures on it, some actual horse riding gear, a stuffed toy, or even a My Little Pony – they get free admission!”

“A trip to the station museum and the Carriage Gallery visitor centre brings the golden age of the railway vividly to life,and celebrate the relationship between the railways and racing,” says Mr Gardiner.

He explains this relationship, “The Chief Executive of the Irish National Stud, John Osborne, noted in an episode of ‘Great British Railway Journeys Goes to Ireland‘, that “the train would have been the artery of horse racing. A lot of the Irish racecourses not coincidentally evolved close to mainline railways. We take for granted today how easy it is to ship horses twice around the globe now, but back then the racehorses travelled by train as well.”

Mr Gardiner adds, “You can look at the impact that the railways had on people’s lives, through artefacts from the smallest such as a ticket in the upstairs exhibition, or the largest such as lovingly restored railway carriages in the Carriage Gallery and the stark contrast of the wrecks these vehicles once were when rescued.

“For the younger train fans, children can enjoy their own ‘Kids’ Station’ in the Gallery, and dress up as a train driver or guard and climb on board the cab of a locomotive or carriage for their photograph to be taken, or can get to drive Thomas the Tank Engine on a model railway – ‘big kids’ might even get a go too.”

Mr Gardiner adds, “While you’re there, you can join the DCDR Society and get free travel all year, as well as get regular updates on what’s happening at Northern Ireland’s steam centre and have the opportunity to volunteer – who knows, you might end up driving the steam trains yourself in a few years’ time!”

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