THE Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is seeking a home for railbus No. RB3, built in 1981 by BREL (No. RDB 977020) in Derby as a prototype lightweight vehicle, using a Leyland National bus body and a high-speed freight underframe.
Before being acquired and regauged for use by Northern Ireland Railways in 1982, it was used as a demonstrator in the Bristol area. After crossing the Irish Sea it saw service primarily between Coleraine to Portrush but proved to be unsuitable to deal with the passenger flows.
It was moved to inspection duties, before finally being withdrawn by NIR in December 1992, and spent a brief spell on loan from Translink to the Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra, before arriving at Downpatrick & County Down Railway in 2001. Used on a few public services and special events for only a short time at the DCDR before being withdrawn, it has been in storage ever since, apart from a small number of runs in 2012, though as hauled stock.
DCDR explored all options to secure No. RB3’s future in Ireland, including discussions with the Railbus Trust and latterly a specialist familiar with the Leyland National design to rehome No. RB3, or get it operational on DCDR metals, but unfortunately the attempts foundered.