Whitehead Railway Museum - Northern Ireland
June 1 2023 | Tagged: United Kingdom
Just 16 miles from Belfast is the Whitehead Railway Museum part of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.
The Whitehead Railway Museum is developed around Platform 3 of Whitehead Station.
Platform 3 was built so that the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway could run excursions to Whitehead and the trains could park up and not block the Belfast to Larne mainline whilst passengers went to the beach and visited the Gobbins Cliff Path.
The main station at Whitehead has 2 platforms, 1 and 2. Platform 3 and the Whitehead Railway Museum is 600 metres away.
Platform 3 was built so that the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway could run excursions to Whitehead and the trains could park up and not block the Belfast to Larne mainline whilst passengers went to the beach and visited the Gobbins Cliff Path.
The main station at Whitehead has 2 platforms, 1 and 2. Platform 3 and the Whitehead Railway Museum is 600 metres away.
|
|
|
|
And if you have been paying attention, you'll know I love a good railway museum. I have visited the Museo de los Ferrocarrileros, in CDMX, the Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos in Puebla and the Museo del Ferrocarril Sonsonate.
I turned up just before 11 am and was lucky in that a guided tour was just leaving.
I turned up just before 11 am and was lucky in that a guided tour was just leaving.
The Platform 3 Café
The waiting room has been turned into the Platform 3 Café:
The Whitehead Signal Box
This is a replica, built in 2015:
Guinness 3BG
Guinness 3BG is a 0-4-0ST (saddle tank) and was built by Hudswell Clarke & Co., Leeds, in 1919. The locomotive was owned by Guinness in Dublin and was presented to the RPSI in 1965.
With luck the Guinness 3BG was shunting coaches in the yard for some VIP guests arriving later so we saw the 3BG in action:
Read more about the Guinness 3BG on the RPSI website.
The Turntable
This turntable is 59 feet long and was refurbished on site and was fully operational in 2016.
I suggest that you come to the Whitehead Railway Museum yourself and discover with the expert guides more about the railways of Northern Ireland, but here are a few more photos:
How to get to the Whitehead Railway Museum:
Trains leave Belfast every 30 minutes for Whitehead, journey time is about 35 minutes. Then it's a short walk to the museum.
You can check out the latest times and fares for trains to Whitehead on the Translink website.
Opening hours and tickets:
Opening hours have been revised in 2023. The Whitehead Railway Museum is now open Wednesday-Saturday 10 am - 4 pm.
Admission costs:
Admission costs:
Check the Steam Trains in Ireland website for updates.