Foyle Valley Railway - the abyss beckons!

Hi all

Over on an Irish model railway forum, the subject of the Foyle Valley Railway came up, and some folk want to get the message out to the larger heritage world about a possible closure of this site in Londonderry.

I am not a member, nor am I involved with the FVR, but I said I would start a thread for those involved to find on here.

 

The actual railway hasn't run for years, although the museum remains open. Maybe it's the future of the museum that's in jeopardy; it wouldn't be the first time.

 

Derry, not londonderry

 

Run by a charity called Destined which was appointed by the council since the volunteers were kicked out and the building extended to deliberately block rail access at one end.
Track abandoned and the NWIRS denied access to retrieve the only surviving L&LSR carriage which is their property.
Meenglas given a cosmetic spruce up and then returned to outside 'display', I believe the loco is also owned by NWIRS.
Could have been so much more (restoration of the route to Carrigans was planned at one time) until the politicians got involved.

Not sure where the rumours are coming from, and it doesn't surprise me, but I would think that the exhibits are relatively safe.

NWIRS don't do themselves any favours either - no online presence, and I believe others have tried to make contact without any success.

 

Do we need to get into that particular vexed debate? There are arguments for and against both.

 

Hi Keith.

I have found trying to contact the NWIRS in the past almost impossible; the only part of the Donegal railway that is open to help are the guys at the Donegal heritage station itself.

I think I read somewhere that the NWIRS were linked to the operation on the Glenties branch, and a couple of years ago, they were asking for someone to come and take it over, as the people operating it had had enough. Again, trying to find out what the current situation is has resulted in not getting any response to my email.

It is a shame since the Donegal and Swilly lines could be a major tourist attraction and employer for that part of Ireland.

I do realise that they simply don't have the number of volunteers in Ireland as we do over here in the UK, but there must be a long-term solution to all of this.

 

Hi Colin,

Fintown uses CDR railcar 18 which belongs to NWIRS or one of its members, I believe the railway is supported by government grants for employment creation.
It would probably not survive as a standalone 'traditional' style preserved railway, as it is very much in the wilds of Donegal with not much population around to draw volunteers from. In 2023 it attracted 2000 visitors over 3 months of opening. There was some talk a while back of the Donegal town people getting involved but I don't know if that is still being considered. Whilst the scenery on the railway is beautiful, the railcar could do with some attention and the station at Fintown is a portacabin in a gravel car park. The original station is in a state of disrepair and I do not know if the railway has possession of it.

Donegal railway museum is a great place and well worth a visit, however I do wonder about the long term future of the stock there, as it is virtually all exposed to the Irish weather. Drumboe looks great but hasn't moved since it arrived nearly 5 years ago (so the bearings at least would need reworked), and it still requires a full boiler overhaul if it was ever to be steamed. I would question if a loco of Drumboe's size would ever be required for any Donegal town based railway. The Donegal site is restricted because of developments around it, making it difficult to see how a 3ft railway could be reinstated. They have recently put forward plans for a miniature railway, but it is unclear if this would be operating from Donegal or on some other part of the CDR. Although Donegal has a much larger catchment area than Fintown, I would still question if there would be enough volunteers to run a railway. In 2023 it attracted 7000 visitors over 12 months and as per Fintown I believe it receives several grants to employ staff, without which it would probably not open as much as it does. In an ideal world, the museum would acquire some of the former railway land from the John Bosco centre and build a museum on it where the stock could be safely housed under cover.

FVR was/is possibly the only chance of a decent length of track (albeit GNRI route) ever being remotely feasible and the only route that steam would be feasible on. The cross border element could attract funding and Derry is probably large enough to muster the required number of volunteers. If ownership of the FVR museum and the trackbed to Carrigans could be secured by an independent group (free from council influence) then the future could be positive.

I don't think the CDR and/or Swilly could ever be a 'major' tourist attraction and it wouldn't be a major employer either I'm afraid.

Can you say where the reports of the FVR closing have come from, or can you post them here?

 

Hi Keith

I have posted the link here:- https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/4101-foyle-valley-railway-the-abyss-beckons/

It was started back in 2015, but has recently come to life again

Colin

 

Thanks Colin, although I'm failing to see any new news or threats to the current setup on that thread?

It looks like someone has taken a picture of the end of the line and it has stirred up a few memories, but nothing new as regards the FVR's future - maybe I'm missing something?

 

Hi Keith

I think you are right. I have just been over it again, and I agree with you.

As I said before, I am not involved with the heritage side of things since I live too far away to do anything about it, but my involvement is purely as a modeller

Colin