Race against time to save Doon Valley Railway with months to raise £250k
The owner that leases the buildings to the Ayrshire Railway Preservation group is selling up.
Last updated 9th Mar 2023
It’s a battle against time to save the Doon Valley Railway in East Ayrshire, after the owner of the property told the group running the place he’s selling up.
Run by the Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group (ARPG), the Doon Valley Railway is an industrial heritage museum located in Dunaskin.
It has a number of steam locomotives and diesel locomotives that attract thousands of visitors every year.
Now, with one year until the ARPG celebrate their 50th anniversary, they find themselves in a struggle to save the historical site.
The owner of the property informed them last month he intends to sell the buildings he leases to the group this summer, but he’s given them first refusal of buying.
However, the ARPG now need to raise £250,000 to save the location and they only have a short time to do so, with the owner aiming to sell the property by Monday 31 July, 2023.
Months to raise £250k
Archie Thom is chairman of the ARPG and is telling {{statioName}} that although it seems like an impossible task, he still has faith the group can do it.
He said: “The asking price is way beyond our means and we now find ourselves working desperately hard to meet a deadline to save these buildings.
“I think some people are already convinced that we won’t make it. I don’t subscribe to that way of thinking myself.
“it is going to be an immense amount of work, but I remain hopeful. Personal donations have already being rolling in. Some have been very generous. We received a £5000 donation from one individual just last week.
“Other people have raised huge sums of money in the past, so I know it can be done if we can gain even more public support.
“The support we’ve had already has been great and we’re very very grateful to everyone who has donated so far.
The buildings at risk are the Ticket Office, Gift Shop, Customer Toilets, Exhibition and Artefacts Room, Volunteer Rest Room, Signal Box Cafe, Museum, Joiners & Metal Shop and the associated grounds surrounding this area.
"With tourism, the sky is the limit"
Archie says every building is critical operation, events and many future plans to expand the railway.
He added: “We’ve currently got support to more than a mile of railway track and we are on the cusp of securing a license to run another mile and a bit of that, which will take us back to where we were twenty years ago in Minnivey.
“The prospect of that for tourism in the Doon Valley, well the sky is the limit.
“It would be horrible not to celebrate our 50th anniversary next year, but we need all the helpe we can get.
“We need corporate support, government grants if we can get them, and we have lots of volunteers putting their heart and soul into saving it.”