Ulster Folk and Transport Museums facts for kids

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Ulster Folk and Transport Museums
Rail Gallery of the Ulster Transport Museum
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Established	1967 (1967)
Location	Cultra, Northern Ireland
Type	Aviation museum
Visitors	172,712 (2019)
Public transit access	501A, 501B

The Ulster Folk Museum and Ulster Transport Museum are two amazing places to visit in Cultra, Northern Ireland. They are about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) east of Belfast. The Folk Museum shows what life was like for people in Northern Ireland long ago and today. The Transport Museum explores how people have traveled by land, sea, and air through history.

These museums are super popular and are among the best places to visit in Ireland. They are part of National Museums Northern Ireland.

Ulster Folk Museum: Step Back in Time!
- How the Folk Museum Started
- What You Can See at the Folk Museum
Ulster Transport Museum: On the Move!
- How the Transport Museum Began
- Amazing Transport Exhibits
Getting to the Museums by Train
See also
- Other museums
Images for kids

Ulster Folk Museum: Step Back in Time!

W. and G. Baird Stationers and Printers, a shop from the past.

The waterwheel that powered the Coalisland spade mill.

How the Folk Museum Started

The Ulster Folk Museum was created in 1958. Its main goal was to save the old ways of country life. Cities and factories were growing fast in Northern Ireland. This meant that many old traditions and ways of living were starting to disappear.

The museum bought a huge 136-acre (55 ha) piece of land in 1961. This land used to be a big estate. The museum first opened its doors to visitors in 1964.

What You Can See at the Folk Museum

The Folk Museum is like a living history book! It has many old buildings and homes. These buildings were carefully moved from different parts of Ireland. They were then rebuilt, brick by brick, right here at the museum.

You can walk through a recreated countryside from the early 1900s. You'll see old farms, cozy cottages, and even farm animals. There's also a typical Ulster town called "Ballycultra." It has old-fashioned shops, churches, and different types of houses. You can even enjoy a treat at the Tea room!

The museum often has fun activities. You can watch people cooking over an open fire. You might see how printing or needlework was done long ago. They also show traditional Irish crafts. These activities help the museum share its stories with people from all over the world.

The museum also keeps a huge collection of old films, photos, TV shows, and sounds. It has many old radio and TV programs from BBC Northern Ireland. It also has recordings from an Irish language radio station. The museum also collects old dialects (ways of speaking) from Ulster. Plus, it has a big library with over 15,000 books. You can visit the archives and library during office hours.

Ulster Transport Museum: On the Move!

Great Southern Railways No. 800 Maeḋḃ, a powerful steam train.

How the Transport Museum Began

The Transport Museum started with a collection of old vehicles in Belfast. These were first shown in the 1950s. The collection grew and moved to a new building in 1962.

In 1967, the Transport Museum joined with the Ulster Folk Museum. More land was bought at Cultra. The first new gallery opened in 1976. Most of the collection moved to Cultra in the 1990s. Big new galleries for trains and road vehicles opened in 1993 and 1996.

Amazing Transport Exhibits

The Transport Museum has a huge collection of vehicles. It tells the story of how people traveled in Ireland. You can see everything from very old transport to modern vehicles. It has the biggest collection of trains in Ireland!

The Irish Railway Collection shows over 150 years of train history. You'll see powerful Steam locomotives, passenger cars, and goods wagons. There are also lots of railway items and fun interactive displays. A main highlight is the Great Southern Railways Class 800 train, No. 800 Maeḋḃ. It's one of the biggest and strongest steam trains ever built in Ireland.

A clay model of the famous DMC-12 Coupe car.

The Road Transport Galleries have a large collection of vehicles. These include bikes, motorcycles, trams, buses, and cars. One of the most famous cars is a DMC DeLorean. This car became super famous from the movie Back to the Future. It was actually made in Belfast!

Recently, the museum added items from the famous racer Stanley Woods. You can see two of his racing bikes. There's also a Rex McCandless vehicle and an early Formula 1 racing car. In 2023, a new display opened with 7 racing motorbikes. These belonged to local racers, including the legendary Joey Dunlop. This shows the long history of road racing in Northern Ireland.

The museum also has a special Titanic exhibition. It tells the story of how the ship was built, its journey, and its sad sinking. The Titanic has a strong connection to Northern Ireland. It was built in the Harland and Wolff shipyards, which are very close to the museum. The updated Titanic exhibition is called TITANICa. You can also see a large 120-ton steel ship called the Result.

The Short SC.1, an experimental plane that could take off straight up.

You can also see a special airplane called the Short SC.1. This was an experimental plane built by Short Brothers. It could take off and land straight up, like a helicopter! Only two of these planes were ever made. The one in the museum, XG905, crashed in 1963. Sadly, its pilot died. But the plane was repaired and flown again before it came to the museum.

Getting to the Museums by Train

You can easily get to the museums by train! Cultra railway station is right on the Belfast-Bangor railway line. From there, you can catch trains to places like Sydenham, Belfast Central, Great Victoria Street, Portadown, and Newry. You can also go in the other direction to Bangor.

Images for kids

Dublin and Kingstown Railway carriage No. 48.
Midland Great Western Railway director's saloon car.
Guinness Brewery bench wagon No. 3.
Fintona horse-drawn tram No. 381.
Portstewart Tramway steam tram No. 2.
Cavan and Leitrim Railway steam locomotive No. 2, Kathleen.
Bessbrook and Newry Tramway electric tram No. 2.
Belfast Street Tramways Co. horse-drawn tram No. 118.
Londonderry Port steam locomotive No. 1.
Great Northern Railway (Ireland) steam locomotive No. 93, Sutton.
Belfast and County Down Railway steam locomotive No. 30.
Hill of Howth Tramway electric tram No. 4.
Belfast Corporation Tramways electric tram No. 249.
Guinness Brewery steam locomotive No. 20.
Model of a Guinness Brewery haulage wagon.
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee petrol railcar No. 1, The Pup.
Larne Aluminium Works steam locomotive No. 2.
Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway carriage No. 1.
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee steam locomotive No. 2, Blanche.
War Department Light Railways Simplex locomotive No. 246.
Northern Counties Committee steam locomotive No. 74, Dunluce Castle.
Great Northern Railway (Ireland) railbus E.
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee carriage No. 3.
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee diesel locomotive No. 11, Phoenix.
Belfast Corporation Tramways electric tram No. 357.
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee diesel railcar No. 10.
Great Southern Railways steam locomotive No. 800, Maedb.
Admiralty Railway diesel mechanical locomotive No. 3127.
Northern Sand & Brick Company Simplex locomotive No. 9202.
Guinness Brewery diesel mechanical locomotive No. 35, Planet.
CIÉ BoBo diesel locomotive B113.
Northern Ireland Railways BoBo diesel locomotive 102.
Northern Counties Committee rail bike.
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee open wagon No. 136.
4-wheeled mining carts.

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