Drumboe restoration is back on track
THE restoration of former County Donegal Railways 2-6-4T No. 5 Drumboe is firmly back on track at Heritage Engineering Ireland's Whitehead base after engineers, furloughed from the start of 2021, came back to work on May 1.
The locomotive's rolling chassis has been moved into the Henry Dunleath workshop where work is underway on replacing the cylinder cladding.
A new bunker has been fabricated and, after assessment, it was decided to replace all of the cab steel, although some ironwork has been restored and reused on both it and the bunker.
Donegal Railway Heritage Centre manager Niall McCaughan said: “We're delighted that work has restarted and is going on apace, so that we hope to welcome Drumboe back home to Donegal in the autumn.
“Although the current work, which has included repainting the outside of the boiler and firebox after descaling, as well as an initial boiler inspection, consists of a cosmetic restoration, all the work is being done to a standard which will allow the loco to steam in the future.
“Although our appeal for funds to restore the loco were generously supported by so many people, costs for the platform and canopy under which we will exhibit No. 5 have risen because of the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, and there's still leeway for more donations to ensure we have everything in place for Drumboe's triumphant return.
“Full details are available at www. donegalrailway.com for anyone who can help.”
Lesson in safety
Meanwhile, the heritage centre, which is again fully open, has received the donation of Webb and Thompson miniature train staff apparatus, which formerly did duty at Glenmaquin Station on the Strabane-Letterkenny line between 1909 and 1947, when the station was demoted to a halt and its passing loop and block post status removed.
Mark McDaid, chairman of the centre's board of trustees, said: “We are delighted to have had this artefact donated to us by the MacMahon family, descendants of Jimmy MacMahon, the last Ballyshannon stationmaster who managed to save this machine from destruction when the railway closed.
“Michael Walsh, of the Irish Railway Record Society, worked with the family to persuade them to donate it to the centre where, after a little initial restoration, it is now on display along with train staffs to explain how traffic was controlled on CDR's single line sections.
“As the status and reputation of the centre has grown, we're finding more and more people are coming forward to us with Donegal Railway artefacts.”
Mark has now made the train staff apparatus the focus of the centre's latest short Museum Moment video on YouTube. He describes what how the train staff system worked, how staffs with keys were used to unlock sidings points at halts, and displays a very rare, wooden train staff in the museum collection.
Dating from the opening of the Stranorlar-Glenties line in 1895, it recalls the era before the electric train staff system was adopted on every CDR line. In the early wooden staff, the section name is carved into the woodwork of what looks almost like a chair leg.
The County Donegal Railways used large staffs on the Derry, Glenties, Ballyshannon and Killybegs lines, with miniature instruments in use on the Finn Valley, West Donegal and Letterkenny sections. A serious accident took place on August 29, 1949, when the driver of railcar 17 left Donegal station for Ballyshannon without a train staff, and was rammed head-on by a goods train powered by 4-6-4T Owenea. The railcar driver and two women passengers were killed and several injured.
In the video, Mark uses the story of the tragic accident, which is still talked about in Donegal to this day, to underline how important the train staff system was to safety.
View the Museum Moment video via the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre Facebook page, or find it on YouTube.