2023-12-31-annual-report

COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBEIL. NIO10798 HMRC CHARrrY REGISTRATION NUMBER: XN484436 CHARITIES COMMISSION NUMBEIL'102389 Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantee Financial Statsments 31 December 2023 Finegan Gibson Ltd Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Causeway Tow8r 9 James Street South Belfast BT2 8DN

Rallway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantse Financial Ststem•nts Year ended 31 December 2023 Page Trustees. annual report {inix)rporating the directorfs report) Independent auditorfs report to the membe[3 Statement of financial activit￿ (Including income and expenditure account) Statement of financlal position ststerrent of (xsh flows 14 15 16 Notes to the financial statements 17

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantse Trustses, Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) Year ended 31 December 2023 The trustees. who are atso the directors for the purposes of company law, PTesent their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ￿ded 31 December 2023. Reference and admlnlstratlve dotails Raglstered charity name Charity reglstrdtion number Rallway Preservalion Society of Ireland-The XN484436 Company reglstration number N1010798 Principal office and r8gl8tered Whitehead Excursion Station office Castleview Road I￿[tehead Caryickfergus BT38 9NA The trustees Mr M Kennedy Mr P Rigney (Cha￿rnan) Mr P Mccann Mr J McKeown Mr D O'Hara Mr M Darragh DT M Bailey Ms S Harpur Mr J Clinton Mr M Devfin Mr J O'Neill Mr M Walsh fv7s R Harris Mr M Parker Resign￿1 111012023 Resigned 0711012023 Resigned 1011112023 Resigned 1010412￿24 Appointed 0711112023 Appointed 0711112023 Company secretary Mr P Mccann Auditor Finegan Gibson Ltd Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Causeway Tower 9 James Street South Belfast BT2 BDN Bankers Bank of Irdand Antrim Road Glengormley BT36 7QN Bank of Ireland Ranelagh Dublin 6

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) (conLtnvodJ Year ended 31 December 2023 Structure> 9ovemance and management Govemlng Documentand Consthutlon The Raihtsy presetvation So• of Irdand is a company fimfted by guarantee. constituted urKler The Companies Act 2006. and is registered in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Metnorandum and Articles of Association are revtewed on an annual basis to ensure that goveman¢e arrangements are appropriate and effective. These are avallable from the Society's website atr. WWW.Steamtralnsireland.¢0Th18bouL Management Committees. t)a¥ed in Belfast and Dublin, look after day to day and operational matters a[￿ a￿ responsible to Ihe Board. Our in$urance brokers, Matsh, assisted a major review and training exercise for the knlety tu identify risks and how to overcome them through training and prctJuTe5. Trustee Selection and Management The Board ofmanagement consists of a p￿Idenc Chainrtan. Hon￿ary S•, Honorary Treasurer and not more than ￿enty other elected members. In accordance with the Artides of ASsociat￿n. Memters of the Board retire on an annua basts and beirvJ ejigib￿ offer tt)emselves for re-81ectlon. Strategic report Significant improvements have been made to the faci￿treS at toth Connolty and Inchicore works in Dublin to address the imbalance btheen the￿ and Whitehead. Related Organlsauons The &￿Iety is a memtEr of the Heritage Raihvay Assocjafjo￿ a body whth represents the majority of heritage and tourist raiws. Iramways and raiPway pre5ervati¢Jn groupswlhin both the UK Ireland. For further infomation see the HRA website at vhw.heiitagerafvRys.cDm. Alusaum Accreditatlon The Accreditation Scheme sets nationalty agreed standard5 for Museums in the UK and idenbffies areas for development. This dernon5trates the society's commrtment to managing collections effectlvely for the enjoyment and benefft of user5.

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporating the Directovs Report) (LyJAJn¢• Year ended 31 December 2023 Objectives and actlvlttes Charftable Objects The objects of the charity. according to the Msnorandum and Atbcles of Associalion are: To advance the education of the publk in Ihe history and deveiopment of rallway locomotion by the preservation in working order and operation of railway locomotives and other ra]Mtay vehides and equipment and the preservation of raiNYay tsJildings. btidge5 and ottEr slnKlures." Publlc Benafft Statemènt The trustees of the Rallway Prrvation Sodety of Irdand confirm that they have complÈed with their duty to have regard to the Charity Commission's guldance on PLFblt¢ benefit and that the publlc benefit requirement ha8 inforrned the activities of the Swety in the year to 31st December 2023. In evaluating public benefit. the truste8s note that membership of the sodety ts open tu all who share an interest In rallway preservation. kniist it encourages those wÈth an interest to join our ranks. itaiso strives b make our services and faci￿lieS availab￿ to non-members and ensure that restrictions placed on that availabilty are both necessary and reasonable. For example. the wintsr meeting prcsramme is open to all, whilst publr access to trains ￿ unrestricted. Summary of Maln Actlviues Preservation, rna1ntenan￿ and operation of steam and d18sel lrtomotives and herilage carrlages on the public main lirE railway netrKffk throu9hiyJt ttie isknd of IFelarMI. forthe benefltof the general public. Developing a working museurn to bring the experien￿ of h￿e raibway engineering and htstory to the general public. D81Nery ot training in relevant heritsge crafts to fts volunteers atKI employe8& Delivery of a monthty wkntsr meeting prTr3ramme covering a wide rdnge of Irish railway toplcs. Also. provision of talks to other socteties and organtsations on those subjects. Maintenance of engineering bases from which are delivered overhaul arKI maintenano facifthes. both for the Society5 own PUFposes and forthird parties which may rwuire Strdteglc report The following secttons forachi•*ments and performarKe and financial revmv forni the strategic rep)rt of the charity.

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Llmltsd by Guarantee Trustees, Annual Report (Incorpornting the Dlrectotrs Report) (cunfiftuedj Year ended 31 December 2023 A¢hlevements and perfornianee rhe Yearln Numbers 60 - Years preserying and oper8ting Steam trains 6- Public meetlngs hek1 in person and vta Zoom 52- Days on which public trains Op￿ed 19,500 - Passengers catried 8.500- Museum visilors Tralns Pmgramme The normal programme of public trains was re5urned in Dublin. Due to the untimely death of Translink driver. Mr Noel Playtair 51eam trains were U[￿ble to fun on Transltnk tracks. However. trah Ttdes operated ragularty at Whitehead. P￿paring and servicirw the tratns lor general public use requlres huge effort from the Soclety's volunteers. knfjknthout ther enomious commitment of time and energy. the publlc would not have the oppotbJnty to enjoy lTrvelling on htse trains. Meotsngs Pmgramme The usual public meelings were hekl in pwson and online using Z￿m. This conttnued to attr&t significant increase in numbets from all over Irdand as well as some participants from aLYoad. All enjoyed a wide range of presentations. Topics induded: The Belfast Central Rawl , The Ballycasue branch and more phot05 the Collection of the Mac Amold. . Museum The museum reopened for the whole year, with att￿lance more than doubb last year and increasing to near the pre Covld leveL The Museum's Ptatronn 3 Tea Room increased its footfall, both with locats and visitors afike, with sorne excellent reV￿ws. The substantial outdoor area. fLEmished with Pl￿¢1¢ tables and a smaller covered section. pmved popular durtng the summer months. Herltagg The major re5torallon unoertaken duriNJ the wes on k)COmOtive No.171 "Sliev8 Gulllon-. Substanlial maintenance worf( conknued on both the Be]fa5t and DUb￿n carrrage sets. Volunteer members worked on the cosmeb¢ restordtion of locomolives. R H Smyth and 184. Work started on Stripping out the rotten timbers of coach 837. The EleGtical squad greaty enhanced the lighting in both the workshops and museum and the Stte squad ￿ntinUed wilh site mairrtenanGe and Improvement to the signalling at VVhEtehe* continued on the NCC Mogul k)comth pnii

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantse Trustses, Annual Report (Incorporating the Directorfs Report) {cvnfynu Year ended 31 December 2023 Membershlp The membership number InGreased to 986 in 2023 thereby retainlry interest in the Society and its Volunteers The number of registered volunteer5 remain￿1 constant at around 250. Follchving the 8aslng of restrictions. many member5 were able to work on the wide range of ongoing projects both in Belfast and Dubbn. Retirements from the Boarnl The Board wishes to thank Mr Mark Kennedy and Dr Mark Baley who have reslgned from th8 Board. Each contrtbuted hugely 85 Board members and also used their speciffc experbse in day40-day practic woik for the organisation. Related OryanlsatiOllS The RPSI has a tTrparbte agreement with the Ulster Folk & TransFOrt Museum and the DownpatrKk & County D¢)wn Railway to promot8 C£Foperation on raikway herltage matters. It atso is a mernber of Ihe Nl Museuryts Cwndl (NIMC) which ha￿ grant the Society Museum Acor8Jttation that unlocks fUnd￿￿j from whrh the benefits from time to time. The Society ts a member of the Hetitage Ral￿WaY Association, the umbrella b￿lY for herttage raitways in the Untted Ktngdom 8nd Ireknd. Railway Companles The Board has establEshed, and maintatns. a very gcyJd wotklng relationship with both lamrtld Èirffann and Nl Railways, the national rafiway ejynpanks in Repub￿ of Ireknd and Northem Ireland respectively. In the Republic of Ireland, the Society has the *al slabjs of a Raikvay Undertaktng under EU aThl domestic law. This involves a cbse relationship wilh lamrod Èireann (lnftastri￿ture Managen￿nt) and lamrod Éiieann (Rallway Underiaking), as well as with the Commlssion for Rall Regulation {￿￿erlY the Rail Safety Commission).

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Limited by Guarantee Trust8es' Annual Report (Incorporatlng the Directorfs Report) (CLwJllnueoJ Year endod 31 December 2023 Steam Crnv fraimng The Soclety hakls regukr meeting5 with iM)th rakny oynpanles with a view kn the ongoing provision. and Gontinued asse55men( of a seieclion of their dir4WS a5 Steam drivws and firemen. Soclal AfeaTia Intemot-ba5ed publlcty a)ntknues to be a major part of the marketin9 for the and Museum. rnainly ty volunteer efforL The RPSI'S YouTube channel saw a number of rRw videos added duthg the ye8r. Flnancial revlew During the ypar the Society raised just over £830K from members, ral tour5, donations. and gpnts. The results for the peric for the year. The trfilance on restrthd funds decreased by £(33,827) (2022- Increase £5.133). Reserves pollcy The Trustees have considered the level of unrestTiCted TBseTves that it 15 appropriate to hokl taklng aC￿unt of current and ongoin9 commitments. It is the of the Tntstees to hold at least 3 month's normal expendlture. However. the kjnger teTm effect af the Covid pandemtc has reduced the se￿iety'S inoome resulting in 8 £80.000 5hortf811 to meet th￿ policy. At the year end unrestricted reserve5 were £127,264. The Trustees ￿e taking active steps to rebuild reserve5 in 2024 through Gareful management of expendÈlure. Given the nature and t￿lIon of its operdtlons, the charity Is Ttot significanty exposed to prtce or rr8dit risk. Nor are liquldity or interest rate risks of con￿rn as the charity ha5 no extemal commercral fuftding. Surplus fvnds are invesied In short48rm bank deposils. Trustees. r8sponslbilltles slaternent The trustees. who are also directOf3 forthe purposes of comFkgny law. are responsible for preparing the trusteeg report and the ffiancial statements In accordance with appr￿able jaw and United ifjngdom Accounting Standards (Untted ￿￿gdorn Generally Accepted kcounting PracliGe). Ct%npany law requlres the ch*ity tnth to preparE financial statemthts for each year whith gfve a true and fair wew of the state of alFdirs of the charttable company and the incoming resources and applicatkn of resources, Indudlng the income and eXFendl￿re. for that period.

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland-The Company Umlted by Guarantee Trustees. Annual Report (Incorporatlng the Directorfs Report) Year ended 31 December 2023 In preparfng thesa fin3￿ra1 staljrrt, the tA￿tee8 •e reqthd to: selectsuitable acc• rM)IiGie5 aThJ apply them con$tsl, obgeNe the mhod5 and PEtrK4)le5 in the appfKabie Chaiilies SORP. makejudgments and accounting estimates thatwe reasonabEe and state wheth8r appltcable UK Ac¢tyJnllng StaTNlank haw been fol(AwJ. suwt b) 8ny m8lerfal departwes disd05ed and explalned in the Statem￿., prepare the financkl statEm￿ts on thE going toncem basls un tt is inapp￿p[￿te to presume that the thaAty will c￿ue In busin The trustees are reSpr￿S[ble for kew'ng adequate atx(wnknw records that are Sufficient to ¥hcw and explain the charws transaGtiorts and d￿￿ose vthh reasonable aCCUTacy at any time the financial position Df the charfty and enable ttm to ensure that the finandal sktements comply wilh the Companies Act 2006. They are also re5pJn5ible fur ¥afeguardu5g the asset5 of the charity and hence fortaking reasorobie steps forthe prevwrfion and detecjion of fraud arbd Dther IrregU￿ritIes. Auditor EaGh of the pusons vtho Is a INslee at the date of ofthi5 tBPOrt confwms tha so far as they are avdre, there i8 M relevant audft infonrthn of tJk the charftys audttor 15 unaware: and they have tsken all steps thatthey ou9htto havE taken as a trustse to make thomselves avRre any relevant audtt infr>rmation and toestatth thatth8 cha￿¥ a￿1$11rdre ofthaiinformation. The trustees. annual report and stralEgC apprnved on 11 2D24 and signed on behatf ofthe board oftrnstees ty. Mi P Rigney (Cha Atr P Mccann