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Steam Trains Ireland - RPSI Events 2008
Further down the page is a table of all the trains we plan to operate this year.

RPSI Upcoming Events:

Posters for our trains.
You can help us by printing them out and displaying them in a public place. Thank you.

Details of the event.
When it operates, how much it costs and where to buy tickets.

The Broomstick Belle
Halloween steam trains
SUNDAY 26TH OCTOBER

"The Broomstick Belle"
Sunday 26th October
Belfast Central - Whitehead and return Get out the face paints and the fancy dress and prepare your spooks and ghouls for the RPSI's annual ghost train! You will join the train at Belfast Central for the 1.5 hour round trip to Whitehead and back. On board entertainers will amuse your children and all ticket holding children will receive a mystical goody bag! With the popularity of Harry Potter, expect to see a few wizards on our steam train!

Train 1	Arrive	Depart
Belfast Central Station		11:45
Whitehead Excursion Station	12:28	12:55
Belfast Central Station	13:35

Train 2	Arrive	Depart
Belfast Central Station		14:20
Whitehead Excursion Station	15:00	15:45
Belfast Central Station	16:25

All tickets cost £9 and are available exclusively from Belfast Welome Centre.

Call in and collect from Belfast Welcome Centre, 47 Donegall Place, BT1 5AD (opposite Marks&Spencers in Belfast City Centre)
By Telephone on 028 9024 6609 (£1 charge to cover handling and postage)
You can buy tickets online - click here

(£2 charge to cover handling and postage)

GHOST TRAIN
Halloween Special
Sunday 26th October

"Ghost train"
Sunday 26th October
Dublin Connolly - Mullingar and return

In Association with Belvedere House Gardens & Park

All in programme:

Special steam train from Dublin Connolly to Mullingar & return
Coach transfers to/from Mullingar station to Belvedere
Forest of Fear
Trick or Treat Trail
Meet the Ghosts of Belvedere
Passengers are invited to travel in seasonal fancy dress

Depart Dublin Connolly 09:10, back by 17:00
All-in one price fare - €30

Download and post in our postal booking form - click here.

All Dublin based Santa steam trains are sold out.

Santa steam Trains from Dublin

Our Dublin based Santa steam trains sell out very quickly, so we open booking very early. Unfortunately, this year's trains are now sold out.

Tickets for the Dublin Santa trains will not be issued until 3 to 4 weeks before the date of the train.

Bookings for these trains are handled through an external agency - please address all enquiries regarding receipt of your booking to:

RPSI Railtours
"Ashgrove House"
Kill Avenue
Dun Laoghaire
Co. Dublin

(01) 280 9147

“The Top Link”
Dublin - Cork - Belfast
Saturday 31st January & Sunday 1st February 2009

For many years, over several decades, the RPSI has been very fortunate to have had the services of a true ‘steam man’ - Tony Renehan. Tony has been a stalwart supporter of the RPSI and over the years has ensured that many of our operations went without a hitch. Unfortunately, the time has come for Tony to retire from Iarnród Éireann and from the regulator of RPSI locomotives.

To acknowledge the invaluable assistance from Tony over the years, a special out of season operation will take place over the weekend of 31st January / 1st February 2009. The “Top Link” with No.4 and the Society’s MK2 set will run from Dublin to Cork on the Saturday (with a connection off the early Belfast - Dublin Enterprise), and then Cork - Dublin - Belfast on the Sunday. This operation will be a chance for all supporters of the RPSI to acknowledge the Tony’s contribution to the success of the RPSI. It will also give the opportunity of travelling from Cork to Belfast in one day with steam.

For anyone wishing to travel please note that demand is expected to be very high and space is limited so please print out the Top Link Booking Form and return to us as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As with similar operations to Cork in the past, participants will have to make their own accommodation arrangements. However, the RPSI has secured a very good B&B deal with the Metropole Hotel in Cork of €55 per person sharing, which tour participants will be able to avail of by ringing the hotel and requesting the RPSI rate. The contact number for the hotel is 021 464 3789 (from UK dial 00353 21 464 3789).

Also in the planning stage will be an informal gathering on the Saturday night with a chance for a few drinks, chat and maybe a few slides and a projector for good measure.

The locomotive and carriages will transfer from Whitehead to Dublin on the day before the tour and passengers will be able to travel if they wish. There will be various options for tickets on the booking form so passengers can travel all the way from Belfast to Cork and return if they wish.

Mark these dates in your diary - this is going to be one trip you won’t want to miss!

Our trains are very popular. Register your email address with us and we will send you an email with details when tickets go on sale. We promise not to give your email address to any other organisation.

REMEMBER - ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE IS ESSENTIAL FOR ALL TRAINS unless otherwise stated.
Attempting to travel without a ticket at the main departure station OR without a ticket and at a different station on the route causes the RPSI major problems. We sell tickets for the seats on the train, therefore you are very likely to be refused a seat on the train or be asked to leave if you do not have a ticket. Please purchase your ticket in advance.
PLEASE ACT RESPONSIBLY AROUND OUR TRAINS:
If you are going to watch, photograph or travel on an RPSI steam train, please remember that the trains are operated on the national rail networks along with scheduled passenger services. Trespassing to watch or photograph a steam train endangers your safety, the safety of others and disrupts the operation of all trains on the network - please act responsibly. Both Translink and Irish Rail have severe penalties for trespassers.

Public Steam Trains in Ireland 2008
The right hand column in this table lists the preserved steam locomotive that we are planning to haul your train. We will make all reasonable efforts to have this locomotive haul the train, however, we reserve the right to substitute another steam or diesel locomotive.
It should be noted that all train details are subject to change or cancellation at short notice and advance booking is essential.

Month	Date	Day	Starting Station - Destination Station	Ticket status & proposed steam locomotive that will haul the train.
March	24	Mon	“Easter Bunny”; Whitehead train rides & site tours	3BG	Sold
May	7	Wed	“Barrow Bridge”; Dundalk - Dublin	4	Sold
	9	Fri	“Barrow Bridge”; Dublin - Mullingar - Dublin	186	Sold
	10	Sat	“Barrow Bridge”; Dublin - Carlow - Waterford - Clonmel -Waterford	4	Sold
	11	Sun	“Barrow Bridge”; Waterford - Rosslare - Dublin	4	Sold
	12	Mon	“Barrow Bridge”; Dublin - Dundalk	4	Sold
	17	Sat	“Whitehead Sooty Face”; Whitehead train rides site tours and displays	3BG	Sold
June	6	Fri	“Steam & Jazz”; Belfast - Mystery Destination & return (wine & music)	4	Sold
	13	Fri	““Steam & Jazz”; Belfast - Mystery Destination & return (wine & music)	4	Sold out
	20	Fri	“Steam & Jazz”; Belfast - Mystery Destination &return (wine & music)	4	Sold out
	22	Sun	“Strawberries and Steam Enterprise”; Belfast - Dublin & return	4/186	Sold out
	27	Fri	“Steam & Jazz”; Belfast - Mystery Destination & return (wine & music)	186	Sold out
	28	Sat	“Narnia Express”; Dublin - Mullingar - Enfield - Mullingar	4	Sold
	29	Sun	“Narnia Express”; Mullingar - Dublin	4	Sold
July	13	Sun	“Sea Breeze”; Dublin - Wexford - Rosslare Strand & return	4	Sold Out
	26	Sat	"Whitehead Community Festival"; Whitehead train rides & site tours	3BG	Sold
August	3	Sun	“Sea Breeze”; Dublin - Wexford - Rosslare Strand & return	4	Sold
	9	Sat	“Bangor Steam Train Excursion; Portadown - Bangor & return	186	Sold out
	17	Sun	"Summer Steam"; Whitehead train rides & site tours	3BG	Sold
	24	Sun	“Bangor Belle”; Lisburn - Bangor & return [x2]	186	Sold
	24	Sun	“Sea Breeze”; Dublin - Wexford - Rosslare Strand & return	4	Sold
	31	Sun	"Summer Steam"; Whitehead train rides & site tours	3BG	Sold
September	14	Sun	“European Architectural Heritage Day”; Whiteheadtrain rides & site tours	3BG	Pay on the day
	20	Sat	"Country Comes to Town"; Lisburn - Moira - Lurgan - Portadown& return [x3]	186	On sale now
	28	Sun	"Dundalk Excursion"; Please click here to view details	186 and NIR GM	On sale now
October	26	Sun	“Broomstick Belle”; Belfast - Whitehead & return[x2]	4	On sale now
	26	Sun	"Ghost train" from Dublin, in association with Belvedere House Gardens & Park	186	On sale now
November	29	Sat	“Santa Special”; Ballymena - Antrim & return/ Belfast - Whitehead & return	186	Not for sale yet
December	6	Sat	“Santa Special”; Dublin - Maynooth & return [x3]	4	Sold out
	6	Sat	“Santa Special”; Portadown - Lisburn & return [x2]	186	Not for sale yet
	7	Sun	“Santa Special”; Dublin - Maynooth & return [x3]	4	Sold out
	7	Sun	“Santa Special”; Belfast - Whitehead & return [x2] +Carrickfergus & return	186	Not for sale yet
	13	Sat	“Santa Special”; Dublin - Maynooth & return [x3]	4	Sold out
	13	Sat	“Santa Special”; Belfast - Whitehead & return [x2]	186	Not for sale yet
	14	Sun	“Santa Special”; Dublin - Maynooth & return [x3]	4	Sold out
	14	Sun	“Santa Special”; Belfast - Whitehead & return [x2] +Carrickfergus & return	186	Not for sale yet
	20	Sat	“Santa Special”; Dublin - Maynooth & return [x3]	4	Sold out
	20	Sat	“Santa Special”; Belfast - Whitehead & return [x2]	186	Not for sale yet
	21	Sun	“Santa Special”; Dublin - Maynooth & return [x3]	4	Sold out
	28	Sun	“Steam Enterprise”; Belfast - Dublin & return	4/186	Not for sale yet


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