So today is #BlueMonday. Well, there's nothing like a bit of steam to beat the blues so here's an archive picture of 3BG "Guinness" in action at our railway in the early 1990s. Photo from the late Mike Collins Collection.

Our volunteers continue to dismantle No. 90 in preparation for its boiler being removed. This week we’ve been trying to take apart its ashpan, but years of rust and awkward nut diameters have made this a very difficult process.

For this #ThrowbackThursday we’re heading to March, 1967 for a photo of B124 hauling an unfitted freight train at Dungarvan. Many thanks to Ernie’s Railway Archive for allowing us to use this photo.

For this #ThrowbackThursday we’re looking back fifteen years ago today, when our second “Big Diesel”, 146, took its first trundle under its own power at Downpatrick. We genuinely couldn’t imagine the place without the Irish Traction Group's 146.

This Saturday 13 December, you have the chance to win £500; £300 or £150 with a consolation prize of a free 1-year family pass ticket to the railway, when we announce the winners of our 2025 grand draw. There is still time to purchase tickets for our grand draw, email [email protected].

Searching for a Christmas gift for the train fan in your life, young or old? We've been stocking up the station with a range of gifts, including these adorable railway teddies, 450 class mugs and brand new enamel badges depicting the our railway's crest. All available here: downrail.myshopify.com

For this #ThrowbackThursday we have a PB Whitehouse photo of BCDR No. 15 at Newcastle shed, probably taken around 1910. A very proud driver and fireman can be seen standing on the footplate and next to the loco, as well as a signaller in the signal cabin window.

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.