AN AYRSHIRE heritage railway which is facing an uncertain future is planning to sign off for 2023 with a grand open day at the end of this month – and it could be your last chance in a while to pay them a visit.

The Doon Valley Railway’s operators, the Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group (ARPG), announced earlier this year that they needed to raise £250,000 in just three months to buy the buildings they currently lease and use for their museum, cafe, shop, toilets, workshop and storage after their landlord announced plans to sell the property.

The group has so far raised £36,000, far short of its target, but has reached agreement with the landlord to use that money to buy a much smaller patch of land at its Dunaskin base, at Waterside near Patna, which it says “will save the ARPG from total collapse and see the railway remain at Dunaskin for the foreseeable”.

In the meantime, your last chance to pay a visit to the railway this year will be on Sunday, August 27, when, in addition to steam locomotive trips, there will also be displays of classic cars and bikes and even a visit from a herd of alpacas, as well as soup, snacks and drinks from the railway’s Signal Box Cafe.

A spokesperson said: “Without your support and generous donations ARPG would’ve had to make a very difficult decision to close its doors, likely for good, thus facing certain closure but you’ve saved us!”

The group has now launched a fund-raising effort with the hope of reopening to the general public in the “early to middle of 2024” as well as setting up a new museum in their existing ‘wagon shop’ and building a new shed to store its engines and coaches.

Find out more about the group’s plans and fund-raising efforts online at doonvalleyrailway.co.uk.