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CDRRL Latest news

February 2010

Donegal Railway Heritage Centre

Funding from Pobal has now been confirmed although we understand that this will only cover salaries. We are in the process of appealing the decision to withold the payment of an overhead allowance. However, staff have returned to work this week and the Heritage Centre will be open to the public on weekdays only from 22nd February.

We understand that there has been an aricle in the railway press claiming that the Centre had closed down. Happily that is not the case at the moment.

January 2010

Fiftieth Anniversary of CDR Closure
There were two special events to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of closure.  The first took place at the St John Bosco Centre on 30th December 2009.  This was a historical commemoration and the main content was a slide presentation by the well-known historian Charles Friel who showed some rare material previously unseen by Donegal Railway enthusiasts who had come from as far as Dublin and Belfast by road and also by air from England.  These enthusiasts easily outnumbered the attendance from local people whose journey in the snow and ice would in fact have been far easier.
New Year’s Eve was the actual fiftieth anniversary of closure and the ice and snow continued although the day was bright and sunny.  One difficulty was how to convey the Wickham permanent way trolley to the site at Mullanboys where track had been re-laid and trains were to be run.  This was eventually achieved by a 1972 Land Rover and transporter trailer using four wheel drive for the whole distance from Donegal Town.  The Wickham performed perfectly and, after a ceremonial opening by the Donegal Town Mayor, Paul Keeney, trains ran for two hours alongside the platform at Mullanbuoys for the first time for 50 years.
Honoured guests at the train rides included Charles Friel who gave the previous day’s presentation, members of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland team who laid the track, Peter Marsden who sponsored the tracklaying, Peter Scott MBE whose team got the Wickham into running order, and Johnny Glendinning, Chairman of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland and Mervyn Johnston, owner and restorer of Mullanbuoys Crossing Cottage.  The Wickham was driven by the Chief Operating Officer of CDRRL, Neil Tee, who sponsored the sleeper purchase.
Ice-cold weather and failing light caused an adjournment at Mullanbuoys shortly after 3pm and those with the time available completed the proceedings at a reception at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre until 5pm.
Both the Donegal Town Mayor, and Neil Tee, who introduced Charles Friel’s presentation the previous day, emphasised that the whole exercise did not just commemorate the closure 50 years ago nor just act as a source of enormous fun for those taking train rides, it demonstrated that CDRRL and its partners have the wherewithal and skills to restore railway buildings, relay track, and run restored railway vehicles.  The implication is that a reinstated tourist line in Barnesmore Gap is perfectly possible; it simply needs local support and tourism funding.

Closure Repeated after 50 years, hopefully temporarily
The last three months of 2009 had seen repeated hopeful emails from the Pobal office on the subject of grant aid for the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre in 2010.  After the dangers of a lack of grant aid were flagged to senators and TDs in late October, Minister O’Cuív even telephoned Chief Operating Officer Neil Tee in November to say he would prefer to sponsor jobs in Community Service Programme projects like the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre rather than through the dole.  Despite this and the hopeful emails there was no actual confirmation of any grant and still none by 5th January 2010.  The Centre has used all its liquid funds to pay the first week’s wages of 2010, a week which ended on 1st January as 2010 is a 53-week year financially.  The Centre’s other reserves are in capital items and artefacts.  Therefore staff were laid off as from 1st January and the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre closed until further notice.
Protests on the lack of information and lack of confirmation thus prejudicing jobs have been made to several TDs, senators and the Tánaiste who is the local TD for Donegal Town.  A number of CDRRL supporters are amazed that this situation can be allowed to occur for a project that brings thousands of tourists to Donegal and organises spending of many thousand Euros locally, for example some €10,000 on wood alone for local timber yards in the last financial year.  Voluntary visits are still being made to the Centre to pick up post, emails and phone messages and to deal with sales orders, and we hope matters will be settled by March at the latest.  In the meantime, benefactors have guaranteed the CDRRL overdraft with AIB bank so that the organisation remains solvent and thus eligible for grant aid.

December 2009

Track Successfully Replaced Near Inver for 31st December Commemoration
The end of this month sees the 50th anniversary of the closure of the County Donegal Railway.  It is nearly 50 years since the track-lifting train passed by the small platform at Mullanbuoys Crossing Cottage near Inver.  Last week, after months of co-ordinated preparation, donations of finance and rails, and careful moving of materials across national boundaries and the Irish Sea, a tracklaying team from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) was able to lay around 100 metres of track at the cottage alongside the original platform.  The RPSI have also assisted in the repair of the four-seater Wickham motorised permanent-way trolley belonging to CDRRL and this will run trains for invited guests on New Year’s Eve, Thursday 31st December, from 1pm onwards.  All are welcome to come to observe, though for insurance reasons only the invited guests who sign an insurance disclaimer can actually travel on the short length of track beside the old platform.
This running of trains will not only commemorate the 50th anniversary of closure but also prove that the wherewithal and expertise is there to create the long proposed preserved line in Barnesmore Gap.  If Donegal Town has the support and the tourist funding to assist this, then we estimate that such a line would bring back an estimated 40,000 visitors a year to see and enjoy it.   The little line at Mullanbuoys is proof.

Railway Evening 30th December
Another event just before New Year will also commemorate the railway.  On Wednesday 30th December there will be a railway evening at the St John Bosco Centre in Donegal Town, starting at 7pm, with guest the well-known railway historian Charles Friel.  There will be loads of material for those who remember the railway but the evening will also cover what has been preserved and what you can go out and see now.  Entry to the evening is free although the need for donations and supporting membership will be regularly stressed!

Relaying the Track
The recent exercise to relay a small amount of track on the old Killybegs branch at Mullanbuoys clearly illustrates what can be done – in a very short time – with co-operation.  The owner of Mullanbuoys Crossing, Mervyn Johnston, has rebuilt the crossing cottage at Mullanbuoys.  In so doing he has very carefully preserved the original cottage outline while adding an attractive extension.  The unique small railway platform and even the old signal guarding the crossing gates have both been preserved.
Mervyn had always wanted a stretch of track to be put back alongside the platform, and had asked CDRRL at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre to help.  They in turn brought in their friends from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland whose expert tracklaying team spent two days laying 3-foot gauge track after its 50-year absence.  Not only that, it was the right sort of track, flat bottom rail with real track pins driven into the wooden sleepers – the sort of pins that can still be found during a walk on the old trackbed up in Barnesmore Gap.
Driving in the pins with sledgehammers was not easy.  The team had to use untreated sleepers – no creosote – to comply with Environmental Protection Agency regulations.  So the sleepers got had to be a special untreated hardwood, Azobe.  This handsome tropical hardwood was so hard and dense that it blunted two chain saws and needed bigger pilot holds drilled for the pins to get them driven into the wood. In favourable weather, 250 feet of original type narrow gauge track was put back in two days, demonstrating just what can be achieved with the co-operation of all involved, and just a small team of enthusiasts.  With this kind of approach, and the experience gained, over a mile of the much proposed reinstatement of a line in Barnesmore Gap could be re-laid in just a month.
We have waited fifty years.  Some 15 years ago our fellow enthusiasts at Fintown showed that a railway could be operated again there.  But all that has happened on actually putting the railway back near Donegal Town itself had to date been just talk.  This exercise shows that reinstating the railway could be achieved.  The publicity around the tracklaying and trains on the 31st December should serve to demonstrate this to those agencies who may in future be more willing to sponsor the reinstatement of a passenger carrying tourist line in the Gap.

Other Recent Conservation Work
While the tracklaying has gone on, seriously rotten bargeboards in Donegal Station Roof were repaired in October with help from a Heritage Council grant.  This work will be clearly visible for visitors to the station.
Also sponsored by a Heritage Council grant is the ongoing work on the passenger part of Railcar 15 at the station.  It will be protected from weather once restored by a neat station-like roof.  The purpose of doing this particular restoration is to provide a 40-seater presentation and cinema room.  Unlike the current 9-seater room this will allow the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre to accommodate the much larger groups that it is trying to attract to the Town.

October 2009

August 2009

CDR Motive Power

Drumboe was not brought back to Donegal Town following the completion of the Interreg Project because it has proved possible to continue some work at the RPSI to which CDRRL is about to contribute a donation, the rest being done by volunteer work.  The main effort this year has been work on the frames to remove severe rust.  It was deemed more sensible to try to do this before reassembling Drumboe, to prevent need for later re-dismantling of the same parts for essential repair.  It is hoped to bring Drumboe back to County Donegal once that work is done, following which we will need another large slug of funding to repair firebox and boiler, and replace gauges so that she can steam again.
In the meantime Derry City Council are planning a small amount of work on Meenglas to make her safe for those climbing on her.  Meanwhile we are co-operating with Derry City Council and North West of Ireland Railway Society (NWIRS) to determine exact ownership of Meenglas and what option there is to move her to a site such as Donegal Town where we could begin proper conservation work.  The background to this is that two of our benefactors have made a formal offer for Meenglas which has to be approved by the Cox family who Derry believe are still the actual owners.
As shown on the front cover of the last issue of the Phoenix, the one of our five Rustons currently resident at the RPSI in Whitehead is a runner, but still awaits final work on the passenger braking system.  The RPSI, continuing the great spirit of cross-border co-operation with us developed under Interreg, have even laid a few yards of 3-foot gauge test track to try out the Ruston and also our Wickham Permanent Way trolley, shown below.
Peter Scott MBE is shown taking the first test drive of the Wickham following fitment of a new motor to the original drive train, and he is in fact selecting forward or reverse gear in the picture.  Minor adjustment of the brake mechanism is needed plus the fitting of new wood for the seats and we shall then have a four-seater working vehicle.  This will be the prime candidate for running the train services on 31st December at Mullanbuoys to commemorate 50 years since closure of the CDR – but then we have still to lay the track for that!

Other Rolling Stock and Storage

Initial work has begun on the articulated coach section or “trailer” of Railcar 15 currently stored on site at Donegal Town Station.  This has deteriorated considerably over the last few years, despite being wrapped in felt material.  A survey performed by John Darch during the last week shows that we will need to dismantle the bodywork down to chassis level to remove rotten sections and then commence rebuilding.  This was not what was originally planned so we will need to put our proposal to the Heritage Council and we have to complete by November the part of the work they are funding.
Once the dismantling has been done and new materials obtained – at least to do the wooden framework – work will need to be carried on out of the weather.  To that end we are putting a new and innovative proposal to Bus Éireann to make a doorway about 9 feet square in the short side of the goods shed at Donegal Town, allowing us to slide long vehicles into the covered and weatherproof environment.
If this can be permitted, we believe we can store not only Trailer 15 but also at least one or two Rustons and possibly another goods van.  This dry and roomy storage would enable us to work on these items in the dry in a way never previously possible here in Donegal Town.  That in turn may win us some new volunteers – and perhaps the return of some old ones.
We would not in fact plan to put the restored fire-damaged Grey Van 84, nor Grey Van 30, which is currently awaiting fitment of a wheelset sent from the Isle of Man, in the shed.  These we hope to put on rails on display on site, with the kind permission of NWIRS as at present Fintown may not have space to display them.  We plan to assemble railway related dioramas in their weather-proof interiors with previously stored non-exhibited artefacts to provide greater interest for visitors.  Both vans are likely to receive another coat of grey paint in the near future.
A candidate for future storage in the shed would be the van discovered by George Haire near Strabane, though we have yet to complete negotiations for its purchase and removal to us.
We would also hope to protect the long-term future and conservation of the two grey van chassis on site by storing them in the goods shed.

The Exhibition in May

This year’s Model Railway Exhibition took place on 23rd & 24th May at the station and the adjacent St John Bosco Centre.  We had some famous layouts often described in the model railway press including Dingle from the Chester Model Railway Club and Donegal Town from Alan Gee. But we also had other major layout attractions including the remarkable Buggleskelly from member Mike Harris which made a huge centrepiece with 45mm gauge track and live steam locos with an Irish narrow gauge flavour.
Also popular were John Darch’s fine scale Clinkerford, Andy Cundick’s Letterkenny, Robert Coulter’s very busy Everyday Village and John Campbell’s live steam models in 15mm scale.
The non scale model star for the second year was the Hornby ‘O’ Gauge tinplate layout whose bright colours and fast trains – electric and clockwork – seemed to interest young and old.  There were also Dinky Toy, Meccano and Bayko building exhibits and a classic car display.
By our standards this was a large exhibition – the hundreds that attended being a higher proportion of the small local population here than the thousands that attend the UK exhibitions would be of the surrounding population.
Local opinion by visitors was that both young and old and the enthusiasts from the car club very much enjoyed the spectacle.  Our impression from exhibitors and visitors was that they also enjoyed themselves, some even voicing that it was the most enjoyable they had attended.
Below:  Dingle shed, the ‘Killybegs’ part of Buggleskelly, and the fantastic 15mm live steam models of the Swilly.
Special arrangements were made this year to sponsor the travel costs of getting so many distantly-based layouts to come to Donegal Town.  This all worked quite well except for some of the promised sponsorship which has yet to come through.  Given this major cost element, it is probably unlikely that we shall be able to put on a similar further model railway spectacle for a good few years.
While we had such an array of enthusiasts from afar on site, the opportunity was taken to try to co-ordinate a visit for them to Fintown to have a ride on Railcar 18.  The arrangements for this were also successful and on the Tuesday after the exhibition Fintown were kind enough to run a special train for us which everyone enjoyed and appreciated enormously, demonstrating the strength of co-operation. A picture of Railcar 18 on the day is shown below.

Donegal Town Station Repairs

We plan to begin the work on the barge-boards sponsored by the Heritage Council within the next few days.  This will smarten and remove rot from a key area of the roof and we have obtained permission from Bus Éireann to go ahead with the work despite the fact that we are still negotiating over a long-term lease.  Two important issues are that the sponsorship took several years to win and must be spent by November this year and secondly that the action does confirm to Bus Éireann our good intentions for the building as there will be no cost to them.
Finally, we hope to have an option for those who had original share certificates supplied in the early 90s.  Please contact us if you have one of these.

Ballymagorry

A meeting was held with the owners recently where it was agreed to hold back on demolition so that legal matters of who would become the new owner can be settled.  Shortly after that meeting, owner Isabel Stevenson received a letter from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency giving advance notice of listing of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, noting that they are currently considering whether or not to include Ballymagorry in their latest listings.

Thanks to John Darch we now have detailed drawings of the inside and outside of the station and would be in a position to dismantle and prepare for re-construction elsewhere.  So, whatever happens, it looks like this pretty station building will be protected either is situ or through the auspices of CDRRL.

Cashelnagore

No more construction has taken place since the Spring since money ran out.  Discussions took place with Údarás na Gaeltachta at the end of May and there was considerable interest in the revival of a visitor attraction run by a resident caretaker at Cashelnagore.  We are in the process of applying for a contribution from Údarás should they have any money in their kitty, meanwhile any further work depends on the owner and benefactors.

Mullanbuoys

Member Mervyn Johnston has almost completed the restoration of the crossing cottage at Mullanbuoys near Inver, making a fine residence without losing the cachet and outline of the original cottage.  An exciting development is that Mervyn has agreed to co-operate with the laying of some 200 feet of track beside the platform at the cottage – one of the rare ones with its own such facility.  Track has been kindly obtained through the auspices of Peter Marsden of the RPSI and, with Neil Tee, Peter is working on obtaining sleepers so a short construction programme, part financed by personal contributions from member Bill Thrush,  can provide Mullanbuoys with track by the end of Autumn 2009.

Commemoration of Closure

Provided all goes well with tracklaying at Mullanbuoys, the plan is that the end of December this year will see two major events to commemorate 50 years since the closure of the original County Donegal Railway.  Currently the plan is for an evening presentation on 30th December to be given by the renowned Charles Friel, probably in the St John Bosco Centre on the history of the CDR and Swilly and the positive heritage they have left us with.  Then, on the afternoon of 31st December, there will be trains run for invited guests, members and donors on the new section of track at Mullanbuoys, probably using the Wickham permanent way trolley but possibly including the Ruston.  It being New Year’s Eve it is likely there will be some sort of celebration locally!

Model Improvements

John Darch has made and put in place a new and neat Perspex screen to protect the 5.5mm to the foot Killybegs model from unwanted enthusiast attention, and at the same time completed the base of the layout with new panelling.  The whole is a great improvement on the original while still protecting the model.

Miniature Railway Developments

When we originally laid the point on our passenger-carrying miniature railway to allow the engine and coaches direct access to the storage shed, the sharpness of the bends ion the track had to be guessed as track bending was done in Anglesey!  As luck had it the bends were to sharp for our early, heavy and somewhat unwieldy Cromar White coaches which have hitherto had to be manually lifted round the track which was too sharp for their bogie movement.  Again it was John Darch who led the staff team of Seamie McIntyre and Christie Elliot to organise track relaying with a gentler curve.  The engine and coaches were tested but just as training of drivers including our shop staff was to begin the engine’s electronics decided to have a fit.  Our local electronics wizard Paul has diagnosed the problem to a transistor needing replacement and at the time of writing we await this before beginning fun services for visitors for the rest of the summer season.
The team are shown below testing the new track just before the loco packed up.

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