Advantages: A very enjoyable time out.
Disadvantages: Still under development.

...Welsh Highland Railway, Rheilffordd Eryri. This may prove to be a long report as there is so much to say and to see. However I will try to keep it to a reasonable length. First some background. The first Welsh Highland Railway was formed in 1922 from 3 previous railways. 1st. The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway which ran from Dinas to Rhyd Ddu and was formed in 1872. 2nd The Portmadog, Beddgellert and South Snowdon Railway. This was formed in 1901 and was intended to be electrified. No track was ever laid and only some work was done. There appear to have been some financial irregularities and this soon closed. 3rd The Croesor Tramway. This was a horse drawn tramway carrying slate to Portmadog. The intention was to have a local and tourist railway running through the Snowdonia area. But the railway did not reach... Read review

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Advantages: Country views preserved trams
Disadvantages: hard seats and hard ride

...Manx electrical Railway This railway appears to have started construction in 1890.At the Derby Castle end of the Promenade is Burnt Mill Hill, a rather steep climb. In fact the land on this eastern side proved too much for Steam.With the possibilities of Electric traction though, more ambitious routes could be considered. There was at one time a plan to merge all the competing transport companies, that is why you will note that the rails for this railway start to extend to the Promenade as do the rails of the Horse tramway start to extend the other way. Neither quite meets. The station at Derby Castle is not elaborate like the Steam Railway at the other end of town. What you have is a small rustic ticket office. This railway from its outset was dependant on tourist trade. The main depot for the railway is situated... Read review

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Advantages: Good for children and adults
Disadvantages: Vast

...From December 1st all national museums are free icluding the Railway Museum. However, my recent visit to the Railway Museum at York cost £22.50 for three adults and three children (admission for children is free). Nevertheless, the NRM made a brilliant day out. It’s a great place for railway enthusiasts and children alike. I was not expecting anything quite as vast as this museum – believe me – it’s absolutely enormous. So if you are planning a visit, try and make a day of it but even if you can’t spare that sort of time – half a day in this museum is worthwhile. As you might imagine full of trains – so it has to be vast to accommodate them all. Put a good pair of walking shoes on because there is a lot of walking to do. How to get there The NRM is ten minutes walk from York Railway... Read review

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Advantages: Very pretty, well located to combine with other attractions
Disadvantages: Expensive, lack of display space, no platform tickets available

...The South Devon Railway is, as the name suggests, a railway situated in South Devon, running steam trains from Totnes to Buckfastleigh. I visited with my family in May 2007, on a special “Day Out with Thomas” weekend. There are three working stations on the line: Buckfastleigh, Staverton and Totnes Littlehempstone. If you are travelling by car, it’s best to head to Buckfastleigh station where there is extensive free parking just off the main A38 road from Plymouth to Exeter. There is some limited free parking at Staverton. At Totnes station there is no parking, although you can park at the Main Line (First Great Western) station or the dedicated Totnes Council car park, for both of which there is a (reasonably steep) charge, and a short walk to the station. If coming by train, a good feature of this heritage line is that, unlike many... Read review

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Advantages: Great film and suitable for all
Disadvantages: None

...THE RAILWAY CHILDREN ------------------------------------ ~~~Where did this film originate from?~~~ Originally "The Railway Children" was a book which was written by E. Nesbit. This product can also be found on ciao for those who enjoy reading. However many know this film from TV, of course every Christmas since 2000 when it was released ITV go out of their way to dig up this classic and play it. ~~~What's the film about?~~~ This film is about three children, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis who have to move away from their posh rich home in London and live in a small cottage in the country. This happens after their father goes "away" and their mother was left to look after them. The children adapt to life without having waiters and nannies and have to learn how to live life like a normal person. The children live near... Read review

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Advantages: Lot's to see, Interaction, Great education for the kids, free entry
Disadvantages: Expensive parking

...York has a vast amount of history connected with the railways. The first station was built in 1839 and was the main trunk route to London via Rugby and Derby. At the time York was only connected to routes going south. Rail demand increased and in 1877, the decision was made to move to a new location so it could serve routes all over the country. When the station was finally complete, it was the biggest station in the world at that time. GNER now have their headquaters based in the city and around the station, there are a few streets named after famous people like George Hudson for example. With all this in mind, it was only fitting that when the huge locomotives retired, they were housed in a giant museum in York. -History- Back in 1975, the National Railway Museum took over the British Railways collection which had... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderful periodic stations and rolling stock
Disadvantages: Is fairly short if you don't use the rover ticket option.

...Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is well worth the visit! In the heart of Bronte country is a small but lovely steam railway line, known as the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. Despite its size and the area it runs through it is best known as the part of the filming location for the film The Railway Children. Although it operates mostly steam trains, it does also on occasion run diesel trains often used by the locals going into Keighley! As such there is a good concession rate if you do live within a certain postcode area, so it is worth checking up on. However, we visited as tourists, using Oxenhope as our destination station (you can have a round trip using any one of the main stations). Once we arrived we had some time to spare so went to have a look at some carriages and other rolling stock in a barn set off from the main... Read review

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Advantages: fine views preserved trams
Disadvantages: hard seats

...Snaefel Mountain Railway This was the first mountain railway in Britain. Work started in January 1895 on the construction and finishing in only seven months. This railway is different to the others in that it has a gauge of 3ft 6". This to give a greater stability in crosswinds. The company that built it was formed in 1894 It also is fitted with the Fell Patent which is a centrally mounted horizontal rail. This was to be used for additional traction and breaking purposes coming down. These brakes, whilst still fitted are rarely used. An alternative roof mounted system with capacity for regenerative breaking was installed.What this means is that the motors are turned into generators and the effort of generating current acts as a brake. The line can be thought of as in two sections. From Laxey to Bungalow. Here the road... Read review

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Advantages: On time, new trains, comfortable
Disadvantages: Pricy to only go a few stops, trains are infrequent on Sundays

...Introduction ~~ Well the British railways are in a bit of a state. Unsafe, late and unreliable are three words that come to mind. Well those three words don't go with all of Britain's railways. Well those three words certainly don't go with Chiltern Railways, who I use a lot. They provide services between Birmingham, the West Midlands and London. Frequency of trains ~~ Out of the many times I have used Chiltern Railways the train has never been more than 5 minutes late. And usually it is dead on time. Yes I bet your thinking if only all British rail services were like Chiltern Railways. Trains are very frequent in the week and on Saturdays but trains are very infrequent on Sundays and the service is restricted. The service is also interrupted on Sundays due to track maintenance. Value ~~ Not great. Comfort ~~ All... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic Meal whilst having a great train ride - a totally different experience
Disadvantages: A long way from where we live

... The end of the road for us was Pickering in North Yorkshire. It's a lovely little village with quaint shops and a railway where steam trains still run. I know Pickering fairly well because in my teens I used to go camping a lot with a musical group that I belonged to at a place called Levisham which is about 5 miles away from Pickering. Here they took us into a pub - well when I say they took us in - I really mean - she took us because he had disappeared the second we got out of the car. I had absolutely no idea where he had gone and she wouldn't tell me. Then I saw him coming out of the Railway Station - I was totally confused. Come on then drink up he said - the train is ready for us. Yes, you've got it we were having our meal on an old steam train whilst travelling through the North Yorkshire Moors. Its called Pullman Dining... Read review

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