County Donegal tank Set FoR WHIteHeaD MakeoVeR?
2-6-4T could be the centrepiece of a revived Londonderry museum.
One of the last surviving steam locomotives from the County Donegal Railway could be heading to Whitehead for a cosmetic makeover. No. 4 Meenglas has been on display for many years outside the Foyle Valley Railway premises in Londonderry, and vulnerable to vandalism. But the site’s new leaseholder is investigating the cost of transporting the 2‑6‑4T to the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s Heritage Engineering Ireland workshop for external repairs. After the closure of the CDR in 1959, the locomotive (Nasmyth Wilson and Co. Works No. 828 of 1907) was stored in the open at Strabane, pending a move to the US (which never took place). Disability support group Destined now holds a 50‑year lease for the Foyle Valley centre, and is investing heavily in the building, thanks to a £1 million grant from The Big Lottery’s Space and Place Flagship Fund. It intends to reopen the museum at the end of June or early July, and to apply for accredited museum status. As well as Meenglas, it houses sister locomotive No. 6 Columbkille, and a collection of rolling stock and artefacts. Manager of Destined, Dermot O’Hara said: “The plan is to send the engine to Whitehead for a cosmetic makeover, but it will depend on costs and whether we can get funding. “If we can get the engine looking more presentable, we’ll bring it indoors to the gallery where we can show it off to the public.” “We are still at the final planning stage, but we hope to be open to the public Monday to Saturday from this summer.” Mr O’Hara added that the possibility is being considered of re‑ establishing a preservation body to resume train operations over two miles of existing narrow gauge track, along the bank of the River Foyle on the old Great Northern Railway (Ireland) trackbed. It was used for train rides on a former CDR railbus for several years.