It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....! The centrepiece of our station display is once again a lovely real Christmas tree from Killyneeny Christmas Trees, expertly decorated by the wonderful Kathryn, our admin manager who keeps us all on the straight and narrow.

A lot of people have asked about enamel badges of our logo – you can buy them now on our online shop: downrail.myshopify.com/products/dcd...

It was a tense weekend for all of us at the railway, with rising floodwaters lapping at our tracks and seeping into our station yard again. Memories of 2023’s devastation are still raw, indeed we are still trying to build back from some aspects of that event just over two years ago.

ONLY A FEW PLACES LEFT ON THE LAPLAND EXPRESS With just two weeks to go, we have only a few places left on our Lapland Express trains. We expect these to sell out very soon so you haven't booked already, we strongly advise you to do so now to avoid disappointment. www.downrail.co.uk/event/santa/

Thanks to RIVVAL for their most generous gift. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/11/new-...

We are seeking expressions of interest for the replacement of the roof on our locomotive shed. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/11/magh...

Yay! We took home highly commended for Outstanding Team of the Year. #SocEntNIAwards25

Wishing the best of luck to our very own Shea McKee, who is a finalist in the Young Person category in the Social Enterprise Northern Ireland Awards 2025 tonight. Shea has been volunteering with us for over three years now and has put in countless hours of hard work across a wide range of tasks.

For this #ThrowbackThursday we have a very rare photo of GSWR 99, fresh out of the box at Inchicore Works, Dublin. 99 was built in 1890 and worked on the on the Fermoy-Mitchelstown branch in Cork, before being scrapped in 1930. You can just about see that it has two whistles on top of the cab.

And that's a wrap for Day 1 of our Phantom Flyers. We're doing it all again on Sunday, trains depart Downpatrick at 15:00, 16:15 and 17:30. No need to book, tickets available at the station.

Trains operating today and tomorrow 15:00-17:30. Pay on the day tickets available.

To celebrate Halloween, for this #FlashbackFriday we have a photo of O&K No. 1 in ghostly grey shortly after it arrived at Downpatrick in 2012.

What better way to celebrate Halloween than on a live ghost train? Ours is an interactive on-board show where passengers become part of the story. The Phantom Flyer departs Downpatrick this Saturday and Sunday, 1st and 2nd November at 15:00, 16:15 and 17:30. www.downrail.co.uk/event/hallow...

Only a few days left until the Phantom Flyer pulls into town. Don't worry though, our monsters are child-friendly monsters. That being said, they do enjoy spooking the grown-ups... www.downrail.co.uk/event/hallow...

We had a wonderful time at the South Dublin Model Railway Club's exhibition in Blackrock College over the past three days – it was a great opportunity to meet many of our supporters from the Dublin area. Thank you to everyone who supported our stall and for all the chats.

We're attending the South Dublin Model Railway Club Exhibition in Blackrock College this weekend, open 11-5 today and tomorrow.

Another update from our 80 class restoration project www.downrail.co.uk/2025/10/80-c...

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, we were delighted to assist Saintfield Community Association with their development of Windmill Park Saintfield by helping install a section of track. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/10/rail...

If anyone missed out on the DCDR 40th Anniversary brochure, we have a limited supply available in our Shopify store. Our popular 80 class posters are also back in stock. downrail.myshopify.com/collections/...

More on the arrival of our cement bubble wagon www.downrail.co.uk/2025/10/dcdr...

Bubble bubble, boil and trouble… No, we’re not being seasonal now that it’s October… Say hello to our latest acquisition, the last surviving CIÉ ‘cement bubble’ wagon.

Last weekend saw further progress on 80 class railcar 69. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/10/80-c...

If you want to travel on our Lapland Express trains but you have someone in your group who doesn’t respond well to crowds, music, and other loud noises, you can now book our Quiet Train on Sat 29th Nov at 4:30pm. To book seats on the Quiet Lapland Express Train only, email [email protected].

A bit of torrential rain didn’t stop our volunteers from coming to the railway today… or more importantly, getting chips at Ralph's.

Our new volunteer Harrison has been getting stuck in on his first day at Downpatrick by carrying out welding repairs on 80 class power car 69. At almost 50 years of age, the ducts that carry air to cool the traction motors were in desperate need of some TLC.

Great to host the Irish Section of the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers last week. Some very informative talks indeed. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/09/irse...

We're back at @downrail.bsky.social on 1st & 2nd Nov with our family-friendly Halloween show - The Curse of the Phantom Flyer. Tickets on sale now downrail.co.uk/event/halloween/

Time for a Thumper Thursday update. September has seen another milestone reached in our 80 class restoration project, with substantial progress made on the fitting of the windows and their frames back into the power car (putting things back in feels so much rewarding than dismantling them).

Help us save the last CIÉ cement bubble wagon. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/09/savi...

We love a good trainbow. Station and sky looking stunning this evening.

To celebrate 124 carrying passengers for the first time in preservation last Saturday, for this #ThrowbackThursday we present this photo from Ernie's Railway Archive of B124 with its original paint scheme at Aghadavoyle, Co. Armagh, with a Dublin-Belfast Enterprise service in the 1960s.

Look at the cracking write-up the heritage railway my brother volunteers at got in the local paper: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/norther... Well done @downrail.bsky.social, and happy anniversary!

Babcock upgrades level crossing and track at Northern Ireland Heritage Railway https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2025/08/babcock-upgrades-level-crossing-and-track-at-northern-ireland-heritage-railway.html #downpatrick #DownpatrickAndCountyDownRailway #ireland #LevelCrossing #RailwayHeritage

One week to go until our first ever Whiskey Express, featuring no less than four locally-produced spirits. Limited places available, secure yours at www.downrail.co.uk/event/whiske...

What a scorcher this weekend! ☀️ Our Summer Season is in full swing, with plenty of visitors big and small enjoying the sunshine. The station has been especially colourful, filled with fluttery friends along the platforms. 🦋

Our 'Derry Girls' diesel railcar is out again tomorrow, join us as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary year. Trains depart Downpatrick at 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15, 16:00. Online bookings close at 6pm today or pay at our ticket office on the day.

DCDR are proud to partner with this wonderful social enterprise initiative.

Saturday 2nd August 2025 marked our 40th Anniversary, so we decided to mark it with some special trains... www.downrail.co.uk/2025/08/dcdr...

On Sunday, we took delivery of A class diesel locomotive A3R. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/07/seco...

With less than a week to go until our 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner in the Slieve Donard, Newcastle, we would like to advise anyone who hasn't booked that bookings will close Monday 28th July at 8pm. www.downrail.co.uk/event/dcdr40/

What an amazing day we had with the SuperTrain today! We hope all our little mini-heroes had a blast - four absolutely packed trains certainly kept us on our toes. We’re gathering up our own snaps from the day, but here’s a taster...

Everyone deserves a special treat on their birthday. Our 40th is on Saturday 2nd August, and to celebrate, we'll be using our restored Edwardian carriage set on services that day. Book your tickets online now at www.downrail.co.uk/event/summer...

We've launched a special draw for our 40th Anniversary. www.downrail.co.uk/2025/07/dcdr...