Here's picture from George Walker of our beloved O&K 'Sugar Puff' No.3 in steam at Downpatrick back in 2010. The yard itself has seen quite a bit of change since then; the station track layout looks rather bare compared to that of today.
The strips are aluminium, and you can get corrosion between aluminium and steel if they touch.
The outstanding welding repairs, those to the roof hatch, are well underway.
The next step will be to wash down the power car prior to masking up, ready for everyone's favourite part...painting.
Man painting a train
A train carriage under repair.
Man repairing a train
Extensive measures have been taken to mitigate the spread of future rust. This includes the application of Jotomastic 90 ( a marine-grade primer). This helps to protect the cleaned-up steel and use a proper sealant so that the 'creeping' rust that appeared doesn't resurface.
80 Class update - the final mile
We may not have posted much in the way of 80 class updates lately, but activity on the set has been far from quiet.
Recent weeks have seen the team tackle the last few bodywork "niggles" with a vengeance, with virtually all the filling work now completed.
. @translinkni.bsky.social trains still use the Central Railway route today, with trains now running through to the new Belfast Grand Central Station.
This resulted in the closure of the former BCDR terminus at Queen's Quay, after 128 years of operation.
Here is a photo by Jonathan Allen of an 80 class railcar in Queens Quay in the 1970s, looking much like our preserved example.
This reconnected the former Belfast & County Down Railway line to Bangor with the rest of the railway network via a new station known as Belfast Central (renamed in recent years to Belfast Lanyon Place).
Today marks an important date in the history of the Northern Ireland railway system, for it is 50th years since the former Belfast Central Railway line reopened on 12th April 1976.
www.downrail.co.uk/2026/04/righ...
www.irishtractiongroup.com/2026/a-busy-...
Easter Bunny and children beside a train.
Crowds wait for a train which is arriving at a station
The Easter Bunny poses with a family
Passengers board vintage train carriages.
Some photos from Day 2 of our 2026 Easter Expresses.
Crowds beside an orange diesel train.
Crowds gather at a train station.
Day 1 of the Easter Eggspress complete.
Sunday's 12:00 train is now completely sold out.
We still have capacity on the 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00 but these too are selling fast.
Monday is completely sold out.
www.downrail.co.uk/event/easter/
#Easter
A group of Easter Bunnies in a station ticket office.
Our Kathryn has been busy preparing the station for the Easter Bunny's visit this weekend. His friends have arrived early, and it looks like they've already made themselves at home.
#Easter
The Easter Bunny waving from a train cab.
EASTER MONDAY TRAINS SOLD OUT
Our Easter Eggspress trains are now fully sold out, unfortunately we will not be able to facilitate pay-on-the-day customers.
We have some places left on Sunday's trains, we stongly advise securing your place now to avoid missing out.
www.downrail.co.uk/event/easter/
And don't worry, he'll make sure there's treats for those with allergies, just let us know when booking.
Places are filling up fast, so if you haven't reserved yours yet, we recommend that you hop to it.
Are you hopping aboard the Easter Eggspress?
Just a week to go, and this year promises to be EGGStra special, for we'll be using our classic Edwardian carriages. As you can see, the Easter Bunny has been stockpiling all sorts of treats for the children travelling.
www.downrail.co.uk/event/easter/
A cream and red railcar passes by a lake.
Their own railway uses a classic County Donegal Railways railcar, and runs through some stunning scenery. Do pay them a visit over the summer if you can.
Wishing all at Fintown the very best of luck of with their track project, it was a pleasure having you.
An orange diesel locomotive, numbered 124, with a green railway carriage, with the number 2 on its door.
The FIntown crew were treated to a trip out to Inch Abbey back with 124.
A team of railway volunteers pose next to a signal cabin, it has a sign saying 'Downpatrick East'.
We love working with other Irish railway heritage groups. It was a pleasure recently to welcome a team from Cumann Traenach na Gaeltachta Láir, the Fintown Railway, recently.
The team are installing new points, and came to receive advice on such work from our own Chief Civil Engineer, David Crone.
We can put the clipboards away for a while now and let Morgan enjoy building experience and skills in his new role. With the L plates now swapped for R plates, he knows he’s restricted to 25mph, not 45mph...
It’s been a long slog for Morgan since he started as trainee fireman more than 10 years ago. Shunter, guard, fireman, G class driver, along with rising to DCDR Operations Manager and serving on our Board of Directors. He put in the hard work, the hours, and the determination to make this possible.
Just like a car driving test, we threw in some situations too, including an emergency stop and a hill start too.
Train driver looking through the cab window.
Morgan was put through his paces on every aspect of loco and train handling, from preparation in the morning, shunting, light engine movements, communications, brake management, train speeds, knowledge of the engine components and much more.
Train driver posing with locomotive.
Morgan is the first new ‘big loco’ driver we have passed out for exactly a decade, and thankfully we have a few more lined up in the training slots behind him to further expand our traincrew team.
