Storm devastates heritage line
Northern Ireland’s Downpatrick and County Down Railway left with extensive and expensive damage.
THE Downpatrick and County Down Railway in Northern Ireland has had to suspend all operations until further notice because of flood damage caused by Storm Ciaran at the end of October, with water levels rising on the last day of the DCDR’s ‘Phantom Flyer Halloween’ trains on October 29.
The flooding devastated large parts of the town, with the DCDR’s station area, carriage gallery and workshops under
5ft of flood water at one point, damaging locomotives and rolling stock.
DCDR chairman Robert Gardner told The RM : “This is a devastating blow to the railway. We were all gearing up for a busy Christmas season with our popular ‘Lapland Express’ and our Winter Diesel Gala. However, we are now in a position where we don’t know when can start running trains again.
“We see the marshes flooding every year, but when the waters kept rising, we were hoping it would stop and it just never did. The only building we had left out of the water was the main station building as it’s up higher.
“All diesel locomotives and railcars were submerged in water for some time and, together with the Irish Traction Group (ITG), we are inspecting and assessing all for damage. Water was high enough to have entered axleboxes, traction motors, and other aspects of the locomotives and we are braced for very bad news because it is possible that some may be beyond our ability to repair. We will not know the extent of the damage until our team have carried out full assessments in the coming weeks.”
Extensive damage
Locomotives Nos. 146, G617, A39R, and C231, 80 Class power car No. 90 and the Wickham railcar have all been in deep water. Power car No. 69 in the workshop, which is under restoration, was also submerged.
450 Class railcar No. 458 escaped water rising above the axle boxes everywhere except the driving trailer cab end, but it still needs to be inspected and dried out fully to prevent possible major damage. The DCDR’s small fleet of steam locomotives was partly submerged, but these are not as complex to return to service, and were partially dismantled either for overhaul or for their annual boiler inspection.
“We have reached out to Irish Rail and Northern Ireland Railways for help and advice to get our motive power back into action,” said Mr Gardiner. “We have also had good support and advice from heritage railways in Britain. However, in addition to the damage to rolling stock, we have also lost a lot of equipment, tools, and spares needed to maintain and run the railway.
“We are lucky that we are covered by insurance and are seeking to find a suitable insurance assessor with railway experience, as the damage is likely to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Like many other businesses in Downpatrick, we are frustrated that, a week after the flooding, we have not yet received any support from the Government because there is no Northern Ireland Executive, and the Northern Ireland Office has failed to engage.
“The first step is to assess the rolling stock and see what can be returned to operational order easily and quickly, we don’t even have a working locomotive to shunt rolling stock around the site yet.
“We are, however, grateful to the enthusiast community, many of whom have generously waived their gala refunds to help us get back on track. The outpouring of support across social media has genuinely brought tears to our eyes.”
To find out more about how you can support the DCDR, please visit the website at www.downrail.co.uk/flood.