IT’LL be ‘all aboard!’ for an evening of nostalgia when an illustrated talk will help remind local people of the golden age of steam and rail travel in Fermanagh.
The ‘Fermanagh’s Railways’ event, which will be presented by Charles Friel and hosted by the Headhunters Railway Museum, takes place at Mahon’s Hotel, Irvinestown, on Monday (September 30), from 7.30pm. It is taking place as part of the Lough Erne Heritage Festival.
The occasion will mark 67 years since the last train pulled out of Enniskillen Railway Station on Monday, September 30, 1957.
Mr Friel is an Enniskillen-born railway author, photographer and founder member of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, and his talk will recall the era when the railways once criss-crossed Fermanagh’s towns and villages.
He presented his first illustrated talk about the local railways at the Ardhowen Theatre in 1987 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the railways closure locally.
Although he has returned several times, with many newly uncovered railway scenes and much to the delight of audiences, this will be his first railway talk in Fermanagh since 2017.
It will be a chance to see again the once every-day scenes of people and places, passenger trains and goods trains, cattle specials and excursions, as well as the famed ‘Bundoran Express’.
An night of remembrance is guaranteed and is sure to bring back fond memories for all the family – even if you weren’t there in 1957 to witness the last journey!
Admission will be £5 (children free). It will also include an interval with tea and coffee served.
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