Whitehead Railway Museum
SETTING
Outdoors
WHERE
Carrickfergus
What it’s like
Climb onto the footplate of a 140 year old engine and step inside a 1950s carriage at this working railway museum.
This is a proper railway, not a model of one. You get up close to the real thing: a 140 year old engine you can stand on the footplate of, and a 1950s carriage from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's collection to climb aboard. The restoration workshops are open too, so you can see the vehicles that look finished elsewhere in the middle of being brought back to life, which is the bit that tends to stick with kids who like machinery more than polish.
A visit is built around two hours, which feels about right once you factor in the workshops and both carriages. There's a café on site doing food, and the museum itself is fully accessible for anyone with mobility needs. Parking is right next door, by the youth centre.
Where it gets fiddly is the trains themselves rather than the museum. Buggies have to be folded down and stowed in a luggage van with very limited space, and the older 1960s-70s carriages are not wheelchair accessible unless someone can help a passenger from the platform to their seat and the chair can be folded away too. Electric wheelchairs and buggies can't go on the trains at all. Tickets have to be booked in advance for pretty much every train, and once bought they cannot be exchanged, cancelled or refunded.
Dogs are welcome on the platform but not inside the museum or café, guide dogs and assistance animals aside. If you are coming on a Christmas, Easter or Halloween train and want your child to get a present, they will need a ticket even if they are under 3, which is an easy one to miss.
What’s on here
- WED7
Meetings Season
19:30
- SAT17
Mighty Kingdom
07:50 · from £85
- FRI30
Pumpkins, Paws & Claws
10:45 · from £10 · 1 more dates
- SAT28
Victorian Street Fair
11:00 · from £3
- SUN29
Wreath Making
from £60
- SAT12
All Aboard for Christmas
from £16.50 · 9 more dates
Great Northern 150
Steam-hauled mainline railtour marking 150 years of the Great Northern Railway, running Dublin to Dundalk and Drogheda.
Facilities
Need to know
- Parking
- Available adjacent to the youth centre
- How long to allow
- Up to 2 hours
- Wheelchairs
- Museum is fully accessible by the mobility impaired
- Dogs
- Guide dogs and registered assistance animals only
- Getting there by bus or train
- Whitehead railway station (2 trains per hour Mon-Sat), approximately half a mile walk
- Dogs are allowed on the platform but not inside the museum or café, apart from guide and assistance dogs.
- There are no fare reductions for students or carers and no voucher system.
- Whitehead railway station is about half a mile away with two trains an hour Monday to Saturday.
- The annual events programme is not usually published until early in the year, so it's worth registering for the Steam Train News emails for updates.
Plan your visit
How long does a visit take?
Up to two hours, covering the engine, the carriages and the restoration workshops.
Do we need to book tickets in advance?
Yes, advance booking is essential for pretty much all trains, with tickets usually going online a few weeks ahead. Once bought, they cannot be exchanged, cancelled or refunded, so check your dates before you buy.
Do young children need a ticket?
Under 3s do not need a ticket as long as they are not taking up a seat. On Christmas, Easter or Halloween trains, any child needs a ticket if they want a present.
Can we bring a buggy on the train?
Only if it can be folded and stowed in the luggage van, and space there is very limited. Electric buggies cannot travel on the trains at all.
Is it wheelchair accessible?
The museum itself is fully accessible. The 1960s-70s train carriages are not, unless a passenger can be helped from the platform to their seat and the wheelchair folded away for the luggage van.
Is there parking?
Parking is available next to the youth centre, close by.
What food is available?
There's a café on site, and Society trains run a dining car with tea, coffee, light snacks and a bar.
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