Downpatrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Downpatrick, County Down Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Downpatrick and County Down Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operated by | Downpatrick and County Down Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | North Line South Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 (1 disused) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Original company | Belfast and County Down Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pre-grouping | Belfast and County Down Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Post-grouping | Ulster Transport Authority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Key dates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 March 1859 | First station opens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 April 1950 | First station closes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 May 1990 | Second station opened by DCDR on a new site | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
26 December 2002 | Interior destroyed by arson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 September 2003 | Building reopened after restoration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Downpatrick railway station was on the Belfast and County Down Railway, which ran its longest route from Belfast to Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. Today it is the headquarters of the Downpatrick and County Down Railway.
Downpatrick was opened in March 1859 by the Belfast and County Down Railway, as the terminus of their line from Queen's Quay station. In 1869 the Downpatrick, Dundrum & Newcastle Railway opened, connecting Newcastle to the BCDR system at Downpatrick. It was worked by the BCDR for its entire independent existence, being absorbed by the BCDR in 1871. Downpatrick became the terminus of yet another line in 1892 following the opening of the Downpatrick, Killough & Ardglass railway, which was built and operated by the BCDR. Coinciding with this, a direct curve from the Belfast line to the Newcastle line was built, and an interchange station (It had no external access) roughly 700m south of Downpatrick was provided at the junction, named Downpatrick Loop Platform. The Loop Platform brought an end to the time-consuming practice of Belfast – Newcastle trains having to enter Downpatrick and run around; instead stopping at the Loop Platform with passengers for Downpatrick catching a connecting train.
At its peak, Downpatrick station boasted a turntable, small engine shed, a cattle beach, goods shed and multiple sidings. The station itself was an elaborate affair with a large brick building and an overall glass roof covering the Northern section of the main platform and its associated run-around loop. The bay platform and its loop were covered by a shorter wooden canopy which adjoined the main building. The station and yard were situated on Market Street, roughly where The Grove shopping centre stands today.
The station closed completely in 1950, by which time it had been taken over by the Ulster Transport Authority. It was used as a bus station before demolition.
After a 37-year-long absence, Downpatrick was served by trains once more in 1987. The current railway station is the headquarters of the heritage Downpatrick and County Down Railway. The station yard, which is on a different site to the original BCDR station (opposite the modern bus station), consists of two locomotive sheds, two signal cabins, a carriage workshop, a carriage museum, the station itself, and various sidings and other structures. In the early hours of Boxing Day 2002, the station building was gutted by arson. It was renovated and reopened on 21 September 2003.
The station building was moved from across the street to its present location in the 1990s. Its previous role was that of the Gas Manager's House. The ground floor hosts the ticket office, shop, model railway room and toilets, the latter two of which are accessed from the platform. The first floor is home to a museum of BCDR railwayana. Downpatrick Station currently only has one operational platform, with a second, slightly shorter one, to be reinstated in the near future. A restored signal cabin from Bundoran Junction is at the north end of the platform. At the south end is a water tower and signal post.
The station stood in for Derry and Castlerock railway stations in the Derry Girls Season 3 episode, Strangers On A Train.
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
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King's Bridge Halt | Belfast and County Down Railway Belfast-Newcastle | Train reverses | ||
Downpatrick Loop Platform | ||||
Tullymurry | Downpatrick, Dundrum and Newcastle Railway Downpatrick-Newcastle | Terminus | ||
Downpatrick Loop Platform | Downpatrick, Killough and Ardglass Railway Downpatrick-Ardglass | Terminus | ||
Heritage railways | ||||
Inch Abbey | Downpatrick and County Down Railway North Line | Terminus | ||
Downpatrick Loop Platform | Downpatrick and County Down Railway South Line | Terminus |
The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but the line between Belfast and Bangor was closed in the 1950s, although some of it has been restored near Downpatrick by a heritage line, the Downpatrick and County Down Railway.
The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a 5 foot, 3 inch gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using steam and diesel locomotives, diesel railcars, and vintage carriages. The railway has approximately three miles (4.8 km) of track in a triangular-shaped layout, which connects the town of Downpatrick with the historical sites of Inch Abbey to the north and King Magnus’ Grave to the south. It also houses a museum of railway artefacts and rolling stock originating from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, dating from the 1860s to the 1980s.
Longniddry railway station is located at the southeast corner of the coastal village of Longniddry, East Lothian, Scotland. The station is on the East Coast Main Line, 13+1⁄4 miles (21.3 km) east of Edinburgh Waverley, and is served by stopping passenger trains on the North Berwick Line.
Drem railway station serves the small village of Drem in East Lothian, 5 miles (8 km) from the seaside town of North Berwick in Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) 18 miles (29 km) east of Edinburgh Waverley. Passenger services are provided on the ScotRail North Berwick Line, and the junction where the North Berwick branch diverges from the ECML is a short distance to the east of the station.
Antrim railway station opened 1848 and serves the town of Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Balquhidder was a railway station around two miles south of Lochearnhead, Stirling (district). It was where the Callander and Oban Railway was joined by the Comrie, St Fillans & Lochearnhead Railway from Crieff.
Abergynolwyn railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd, in Mid-Wales. It is 6.55 miles (10.54 km) from Tywyn Wharf. The name 'Abergynolwyn' means 'Mouth-of-the-River-with-a-Whirlpool'.
Bo'ness railway station is a heritage railway station in Bo'ness, Falkirk, Scotland. It is not the original Bo'ness railway station, which was located roughly a quarter mile west on Seaview Place, now the site of a car park.
Adlestrop railway station was a railway station which served the village of Adlestrop in Gloucestershire, England, between 1853 and 1966. It was on what is now called the Cotswold Line. The station was immortalised in the poem "Adlestrop" by Edward Thomas after his train stopped there on 24 June 1914.
Rothienorman railway station,Rothie or Rothie Norman was a railway station in Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire on the rural branchline to Macduff. It lay 7.25 miles (11.7 km) from the junction at Inveramsay at 392 feet (119 m) above sea level, the summit of the line. The station served the village and the nearby Rothie Norman House and estate.
Turriff railway station was a railway station in Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was opened in 1857 by the Banff Macduff & Turriff Junction Railway, later part of the Great North of Scotland Railway, then the LNER and finally British Railways, on the branchline from Inveramsay to Macduff, the station closed to passengers in 1951 and to goods in 1966. The town lay to the north.
Ardglass railway station was the terminus of the Downpatrick, Killough and Ardglass Railway, which ran from Belfast south to Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland.
Hook Norton railway station served the village of Hook Norton in northern Oxfordshire, England.
Chipping Norton railway station served the town of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The station had two platforms and a signal box.
Neill's Hill railway station is a disused railway station / halt on the main line of the Belfast and County Down Railway. It ran from Queen's Quay, Belfast south to Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland.
Killough railway station was on the Downpatrick, Killough and Ardglass Railway, which ran from Downpatrick to Ardglass in Northern Ireland.
Castlewellan railway station was on the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). It was located in the village of Castlewellan.
Comber railway station was on the Belfast and County Down Railway which ran from Belfast to Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland.
Downpatrick Loop Platform railway station is a junction station owned and operated by the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, heritage railway in Northern Ireland.
Inch Abbey railway station is a station on the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, a heritage railway in Northern Ireland. It is the terminus of the railway's North Line and serves Inch Abbey, a ruined monastery and local tourist attraction of Downpatrick notable for its use as a filming location in the HBO show Game of Thrones.