Saturday Thursday 30th May 2024, 7:3opm
Venue: Ballymoney Museum, 1 Townhead St, Ballymoney BT53 6BE
The Donegal Railway Museum is delighted to be giving its next talk to take place at Ballymoney Museum, titled “The Ballycastle Railway Remembered” presented by railway historian Jim McBride, which will feature many unpublished photographs about the famous railway which once operated between Ballycastle and Ballymoney. This follows on from a new book of the same title, published recently, which is available through the Shop section on this Website
Niall McCaughan who originally is from Glenshesk, just outside of Ballycastle, but now managing the Award Winning Museum stated: “We are delighted to be taking this talk to Ballymoney. North Antrim had one of the first narrow gauge networks in Ireland; in fact it was the Ballymoney – Ballycastle network that inspired the Donegal Railways to change from Standard to Narrow Gauge, ending up with Donegal having the largest narrow gauge railway in the British Isles. The Donegal Railway Museum also has in its collection, the only original Ballycastle carriage in existence which was purchased by the Donegal Railway when the Ballycastle railway closed. The Ballycastle Railway is very much part of the story of North Antrim, operating between Ballycastle and the towns between it and Ballymoney, and needs to be remembered and celebrated. Jim’s talk will focus on the trains that operated from Ballymoney to Ballycastle, as well as look at some of the great infrastructure built, much of which is still to be seen. The railways brought many benefits to North Antrim, not only in general mobility, but also for commerce, tourism, and much more.
The new publication, “The Ballycastle Railway Remembered” will be available on the night. The book comprises of 64 pages of photographs, several of which are from North Antrim residents who had a direct connection with the Ballycastle Railway!”
The talk will take place at 7:30pm on Thursday 30th May 2024 at Ballymoney Museum, 1 Townhead St, Ballymoney BT53 6BE. Admission is free and to book a place you can email [email protected] or phone 028 276 60230.
