Cabin restored to its former glory

Cabin restored to its former glory

7 June 2017

A HISTORIC railway signal cabin that lay in an orchard for nearly 60 years has been restored to its former glory by Downpatrick and 

County Down Railway, with the help of a £10,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

In its working life, the cabin which last weekend was formally opened to the public by veterans of the old line, used to control the north end of the triangular Bundoran Junction in Kilskeery, Co Tyrone.

It was formerly a major junction for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) network, where trains including the famous ‘Bundoran Express’ diverged to travel to places like Omagh, Enniskillen, Fintona Junction and the seaside resort of Bundoran itself, before the entire line was closed in September 1957.

Railway chief civil engineer, David Crone, said very little of the railway infrastructure from the west of the Province survives, “so we are delighted to have restored this significant piece of railway heritage.”

He continued: “While Bundoran Junction Station survives as a private dwelling, we didn’t think any of the small signal cabins still survived until a chance discussion with one of our members and a Fermanagh local on boat in the middle of Lough Erne. He said the former Bundoran Junction North cabin had been saved to be used as a garden shed in a Fermanagh home.”

An investigation subsequently revealed the top half of the signal cabin had lain for over 50 years in an orchard in Ballinamallard where it had been put to use as a very superior summerhouse, but had suffered somewhat in later years due to age and the orchard becoming a bit overgrown.

“The location was known to a few ex-Great Northern Railway veterans in the area who kept the cabin’s survival and details of the exact location a well-guarded secret. When the site came due for re-development the owners were very keen to see the cabin saved and our friends from the Headhunters Railway Museum in Enniskillen helped us recover it in 2011,” explained Mr Crone.

He said while initial inspection revealed that although the base was rotten, the vast majority of the structure was sound and would be suitable for restoration and a new use.

Railway chairman, Robert Gardiner, added: “For us as a heritage railway and accredited museum, it’s so much more rewarding to be able to restore a building that has some real provenance behind it, something you would have seen in use if you were a railway traveller in the west of Northern Ireland, rather than creating a mock replica of something.”

Tony McCusker, a member of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s NI Committee, said the discovery of the modest, but important piece of heritage nestling at the bottom of a garden, was a “lovely story” and the Fund was delighted to be able to help it with the next part of its story. 

He added: “Through our small grant programme we were able to help the railway team to transport the signal box to the Downpatrick museum and to painstakingly restore it to its former glory. The signal box is now looking great and adds to the wealth of attractions at the railway museum.”

To add to the restoration project and working signal exhibition, the project team are keen to obtain any Great Northern memorabilia or photographs so they can include this in an interpretative display in the restored cabin.

Anyone who would like to help with any project at the Downpatrick and County Down Railway or are thinking about joining as a volunteer, contact the Downpatrick Tourist Information Centre (028) 4461 2233 log on to the railway’s website at www.downrail.co.uk or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/downrail or follow on twitter @downrail.