European Railroad Discussion > UK steam railroads

Okay so for all you Railfans from the UK, need your help, im from the states and will be making my first trip to Ireland and the UK this July, what railways that are steam hauled, should I have on the "must see" list? I will be there for 10 days I think, haven't worked out all the details yet.

I think you will need to be more specific, where are you planning to go, do you like standard or narrow gauge, scenery or not that bothered?

There are heritage railways in almost all parts of England, Wales has its narrow gauge lines and in Scotland there's the Jacobite mainline steam operation as well as two heritage lines.

You can quite easily spend the whole 10 days based in London visiting a different steam railway every day. Look at the websites of the long established lines and go from there.

In no particular order - Bluebell Railway, West Somerset, Severn Valley, Mid Hants (Watercress Line), Keighley and Worth Valley, North Yorkshire Moors, Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, Talyllyn, Ravenglass and Eskdale, Romney Hythe and Dymchurch. Plenty to choose from.

Here's a different thought. Do you want to ride or watch? How do you plan to travel round the country?

Some heritage railways have a station co-located with a National Rail site so you can travel there by train (Paignton and Kidderminster spring to mind). A lot of the others are out of walking distance from National Rail so you either have to take a bus (and even then they aren't all within easy reach of a bus stop) or you will need a car. For instance the West Somerset is worth a visit but by train that means a bus from Taunton. If you want to watch and photograph some of the better photo sites need a car.

Don't forget we also have a program of steam excursions on the National Rail system - see www.uksteam.info for details. If you want to experience steam at realistic operating speeds (say up to 75mph) the heritage railways won't meet your requirement!

As for which to visit it can depend on your specific interests. However, I'd probably list the Isle of Wight railway (from London by train to Portsmouth, ferry to Ryde and then the Island Line (National rail using old London Transport tube trains) to Smallbrook Junction). The West Somerset (train to Taunton then bus to Bishops Lydeard). The Severn Valley (train to Kidderminster).

The North Yorkshire because you can train to York, see the National Rail Museum, then bus to Pickering. Ride the North Yorks to Whitby (the North Yorks has running rights over the National Rail). Whitby itself is worth visiting. Then take National Rail back to Middlesborough. This isn't a day trip however you look at it, if you're travelling from London you'll need at least one night en-route somewhere.

So far I've listed some of the longer and more scenic rides. If you have a car you might want to stop at Cranmore to visit the East Somerset Railway en route to the West Somerset. Beyond the West Somerset, along the north coast of Somerset and Devon you'll find the Lynton and Barnstaple (narrow gauge) at Woody Bay (which is inland despite the name). Then drive down across Exmoor and Dartmoor to Buckfastleigh (South Devon Railway) and Paignton (Dartmouth Steam Railway). Most of these are quite short but still scenic.

www.heritagerailways.com Tops on my list, both standard and narrow gauge are: The Ffestinog and Welsh Highland in Wales, and the Severen Valley and North Yorkshire Moors in England. End or start with the Bluebell just a short train ride outside London. Of course there are many others. The web site provided has links to each individual web site so you can plan. Most operate daily during peak season.

As has been already mentioned in the UK, you are spoiled for choice with steam railways!!!

But if you want action you can't beat the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in south east Kent, especially in the summer when there is a train every 30 minutes. It is narrow gauge 15inch, but is 13 miles long and run like a main line!!! 25mph on a small train seems very fast indeed!

Well worth looking for on youtube...

Pete UK

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I rode on the Mid Hants line a couple of years back and thought it was a particularly well done operation. It is easy to get to from London with half-hourly services from Waterloo station.

Ten days for your first visit? Man, that's not enough.

On my dad and I's first visit last year we rode on most of the steam trains on Isle of Man and we also rode the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Isle of Man is unreal but almost too much for such a short trip. I agree with Hartington that the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is definitely worth a visit. We rode the Hovercraft over from Portsmouth, then rode the Island Line to Smallbrook Junction. We then rode the Island Line south to the Shanklin end then rode the Southern Vectus buses around the Island via Ventnor to Newport and back to Ryde. Of course I took pictures of the IOW Steam Railway but figure I'd show the other stuff.

Island Line Timetable, note that not every train stops at Smallbrook Junction http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/uploads/pocket24.pdf

Although not a steam train the National Tram Museum at Crich is also well done.

Jim

1) Ex Tube Stock arriving at Smallbrook Junction for the trip to Shankin.
2) Southern Vectus Buses at Newport.
3) Hovercraft back to Portsmouth.

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Right now I think I will only be able to go to Ireland on this trip, as my family is going and I am the only one who enjoys trains,lol.

Ianmck425 Wrote:
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> Right now I think I will only be able to go to
> Ireland on this trip, as my family is going and I
> am the only one who enjoys trains,lol.

Check the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland's website - steamtrainireland - to see whether they are running any mainline tours.