The Northern Ireland heritage Downpatrick & County Down Railway has resumed operating following devastating flood damage it received during storms last November.

At the time, one of the railway’s volunteers thought the flooding is the worst he had seen in Downpatrick since he started volunteering in 1997.

As the water receded, further damage came to light, including damage to diesel railcar 458 which appeared in the popular Netflix show Derry Girls.

The Railway was confident that it could restore diesel railcar 458, but most of its locomotives suffered worse damage, with the flood water reaching waist height, covering every axle and getting into every traction motor.

Now, after almost a year with no services, the Downpatrick & County Down Railway will resume operations again later this month with the running of “The Phantom Flyer” on Saturday, 26th and Sunday, 27th October.

The “Phantom Flyer” will run a series of trips using the ex-Northern Ireland Railways ‘Thumper’ set No.458 Antrim Castle in collaboration with the local arts company, Avalard Productions.

They will be the first services since the 2023 “Phantom Flyers” that ran just hours before the disastrous floods which so disastrously took the line out of action.

During the last year, volunteers have spent their time recovering from the flood damage with repairs to the line and its rolling stock.

After the time of the flood, the railway needed to repair its locomotives, carriages, track, bridges, platforms, and buildings.

The railway’s insurance assessors estimated that unavoidable costs would exceed £250,000, but its insurance cover would only meet some of the repair and restoration costs.

Last July, the Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd accompanied by Noel Darragh, Rail Safety Authority; Jackie Robinson, Director of Public Transport Policy; James Kelly, Head of Operations, Rivers Directorate; and Donna Thompson from the Minister’s Office, visited the railway to view what progress it had made in reconstructing it after last November’s disaster.

More information about upcoming services on the Downpatrick & County Down Railway is online at www.downrail.co.uk