Northern Ireland

Co Down model railway looks for new home after being derailed from Transport Museum after 50 years

The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970. Picture from social media
The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970. Picture from social media The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970. Picture from social media

FIFTY years after it was driven out of a Belfast park by vandalism, a minature railway, featured in popular BBC children's autism programme `Pablo', is urgently looking for a new home.

The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970 from the Antrim Road's Waterworks in north Belfast where it had been operating trains after it was founded in 1944.

By the late 1960s it was "suffering from vandalism" and the landscape artist for the then new museum at the ruined Dalchoolin Estate off the A2 Belfast/Bangor Road suggested the railway be accommodated in its derelict Victorian walled kitchen garden.

Extensive work was undertaken at the site by the society, most recently £20,000 major investment projects funded by the society, and the tracksite now includes both a 1,700ft and 1,200ft raised level circuit, a small boating pond, areas for traction engine/road vehicle running and a nearby field used for model aircraft flying.

There is also a workshop used by members to build or repair their own models.

It said the notice to quit from National Museums NI (NMNI) is "devastating news" for the members, many of whom are "in their 70s, 80s and even 90s and have been members since before the society was invited to set up at Cultra".

The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970. Picture from social media
The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970. Picture from social media The MESNI Miniature Railway has become a fixture at the Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down since it arrived in 1970. Picture from social media

Member Brian Patton said the miniature railway was "one of the reasons I relocated to Northern Ireland when I retired".

"Now I have trains of my own to run, but soon nowhere to run them. I will miss the young ones who come to ride the trains and learn about them. History is important to the future of everyone."

The society said it has been "custodians of the walled garden and through years of dedicated work and huge investment have transformed a derelict, abandoned area into a charming railway which they regularly share with the public free of charge".

NMNI said continuing is simply "no longer sustainable".

"It is impossible to calculate the investment of time, energy, expertise and money that has gone along with blood, sweat and tears into the site over 50 years and the importance of carrying on passing the skills and knowledge to younger and future generations," the society wrote in a plea for assistance.

It said members are "custodians of the industrial heritage of Northern Ireland through their models and the skills they pass on to new generations".

Downpatrick & Co Down Railway Society's Locomotive No. 90 built in 1875 which is the oldest working steam engine in Ireland and the 8th in the world. Picture by Bernie Brown
Downpatrick & Co Down Railway Society's Locomotive No. 90 built in 1875 which is the oldest working steam engine in Ireland and the 8th in the world. Picture by Bernie Brown Downpatrick & Co Down Railway Society's Locomotive No. 90 built in 1875 which is the oldest working steam engine in Ireland and the 8th in the world. Picture by Bernie Brown

"The Highly Acclaimed BBC Children's programme `Pablo' recently produced an episode in the Transport Gallery and featuring the MESNI Miniature Railway.

"In the programme it highlighted the importance of the Miniature Railway and the Steam and Diesel locomotives it operates to children in bringing to life the static exhibits on show in the gallery

"Many visitors, each year, enjoy visiting the Miniature Railway and experiencing the sounds and smells of a bygone era.

"They talk to the model engineers and see the coal fires burning coal to produce steam. They hear the whistle and they enjoy a short ride around the track through the walled garden but not for much longer.

"... We are urgently seeking a new home to continue our engineering skills and run a miniature railway."

NMNI said the decision to evict them "may be disappointing to some... (but) has not been taken lightly" and is part of a "new masterplan" to "more fully unlock its potential and public benefit in the future".

It said the Model Engineers Society NI "for over 50 years have been given access to the Walled Garden" and only "occasionally... open to the public" and as a "key heritage site" it is "no longer sustainable".

NMNI "have a responsibility to ensure greater public value from it - both socially and commercially" and current use "is creating increasing operational challenges and risks for visitors".

The Transport Museum, one of the finest in Europe, displays Ireland's largest and most comprehensive transport collection, from horse-drawn carts to Irish built motor cars, and from the mighty steam locomotives
The Transport Museum, one of the finest in Europe, displays Ireland's largest and most comprehensive transport collection, from horse-drawn carts to Irish built motor cars, and from the mighty steam locomotives The Transport Museum, one of the finest in Europe, displays Ireland's largest and most comprehensive transport collection, from horse-drawn carts to Irish built motor cars, and from the mighty steam locomotives

"It is increasingly difficult to justify continued exclusive free access and use of a key part of the site - other organisations have expressed an interest."

A spokeswoman said NMNI will begin "research and site investigation with a view to restoring and conserving the walled garden" and told the society its presence "is not part of our future plans".

She said it is discussing "how we can support and facilitate a move from the site".

It is the second blow to steam train enthusiasts, coming as the Downpatrick and County Down Railway revealed coronavirus restrictions have had "a devastating impact on our operations and restoration work" and is likely to remain closed until 2021.

Chairman Robert Gardiner said it was forcer to start urgent fundraising after "our final attempts at securing Covid-19 support funding from Stormont have failed".

The not-for-profit independent museum has just under £40,000 of bills "in essential unavoidable costs alone to keep the business in mothballs".

He said all applications have been rejected "because we were too small, too large, or missing a financial threshold by only a few pounds sometimes", adding "it feels like, as a business, we are being penalised for good financial governance".

In the meantime the railway has "seen the unwelcome attention of trespassers and vandals, causing damage to our trains and property".