going to England

nikos1 said:
This summer i will be going to England and staying in Oxford where my dad will be teaching at the international summer school there. I would like to get to see some of Englands railways and im hoping that some of you can give me suggestions. so far i plan to visit the Severn Valley Railway, the Ffestingoig railway, see the Forth Bridge and ride the Settle and Carlisle railway and the Fort William to Mallaig line. what is the best way to find out when Steam excursions are running on Settle and Carlisle and FT. William to Mallaig and is there a site where tickets can be booked online? if any one is familiar with the Oxoford area where are some good place to watch trains and are special trains (steam or early diesel) run on that line and where can i find out about them? if any one has other suggestions of places to visit i would greatly appreciate it, especially things close to Oxford that i wouldnt have to use up the britrail pass for.

thanks Nikos:)
Click to expand...


Hi Nikos,Now you of got the replies for the minor railways,I`ll tell you about a proper steam railway 113 miles long from Leeds to Carlisle.If you want info about the Settle to carlisle part,, they have a web site www.settle-carlisle.co.uk which you will find very useful. If you want a preview of the line, my route Leeds to Carlisle is on the DLS
 
Spurr said:
Hi Nikos,Now you of got the replies for the minor railways,I`ll tell you about a proper steam railway 113 miles long from Leeds to Carlisle.If you want info about the Settle to carlisle part,, they have a web site www.settle-carlisle.co.uk which you will find very useful. If you want a preview of the line, my route Leeds to Carlisle is on the DLS
Click to expand...

From what i saw on that webpage it is mostly diesel service with Steam Charters, from what i saw the tickets for those were like 400 pounds, a bit too much for me lol, are there also regular steam trains like on the fort william to Mallaig line? ill give your route a try, might as well get a better knowledge of british railways before i go.:) any other suggestion for british trainz routes?
and again thanks to everyone for your help, trying to take a look at all the suggestions and seeing what is possible:)
 
jivebunny said:
Sadly there has been no slam-door stock on our railways since November 2005 :( I believe the only exception is the Lymington branch on the south coast (three stations), although this may now also have changed. They did have a good run though, apparently those run by South West Trains up until their withdrawal had travelled in excess of a combined one billion miles...

I think the only Mk1 stock still cleared for carrying passengers are the Mk1 coaches owned by railtour operators and preserved railways. Mainline passenger stock is now either MUs, Mk4s, Mk3s and a few areas still running Mk2s.

JB



JB
Click to expand...

nope, the two slam doors are still there, although one set has just been taken to Chart Leacon for a refurb

they are mk1, and are still registered on the system. the hole of that branch has been given a traditional feel to it, well worth a trip down!
 
nikos1 said:
any other suggestion for british trainz routes?
Click to expand...
Ah straight out of the top of my head,the ECML a 180 mile long main line,Class 91s,Hst's and more run up there,the area around Doncaster is on the DLS,the WCML should be closer to Oxford.
***Tickets may cost around £30***
GNER main operator of the ECML http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER

gner_pendelino_470x376.jpg

HST and Pendolino.
gner91025aa.jpg

Class 91.
 
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nikos1

The Scottish Railway Preservation Society run steam on their line from Bo'ness to the Birkhill Clay Mine (which is also worth a visit).

SRPS Railtours operate excursions on the West Highland Line, but most of these are hauled by diesels. The only excursion I can see that is steam hauled this year is Aviemore, Boat of Garten and Broomhill.

Check out the website at http://www.srps.org.uk/ which gives info on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway as well as the SRPS Railtours.

Cheers,
Neil.
 
BidMod said:
Yes it has - I mentioned the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (La'al Ratty) and the tour that is going there from Carnforth in my post.

This narrow gauge railway is, as RR nearly points out, the smallest public railway that hauls both goods and passengers - other minimum gauge railways either haul one or the other. However, goods trains are effectively extinct on La'al Ratty, with tourism making up the bulk of the revenue.

It runs through some of the most spectacular scenary in Britain, and is well worth a visit.

http://www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk/
http://www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk/engines.htm

BidMod
Click to expand...

Don't forget the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway!

http://www.rhdr.org.uk/rhdr/home_flash.html
 
nikos1 said:
From what i saw on that webpage it is mostly diesel service with Steam Charters, from what i saw the tickets for those were like 400 pounds, a bit too much for me lol, are there also regular steam trains like on the fort william to Mallaig line? ill give your route a try, might as well get a better knowledge of british railways before i go.:) any other suggestion for british trainz routes?
and again thanks to everyone for your help, trying to take a look at all the suggestions and seeing what is possible:)
Click to expand...

Hi Nikos, further to my other reply, there will be a steam special running from York to Scarborough this summer, but I do not know which days per week or which loco will be used.

Cheers

harry Failem
 
And - If you still have any time after all that lot, there is always the National Rail Museum at York, and The Tanfield Lea Railway in County Durham which also has the worlds oldest railway bridge.:)

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Bob
 
You might like to have a look here http://www.railwayherald.co.uk/ it's a UK magazine dedicated to Railways and often has a number of events listed such as steam trains etc. It's a free internet subscription and back copies are available on the site.

Cheerio John
 
I feel sorry for you, man, railway wise, you are gonna have your work cut out, to see 'england' at this rate!

I mean, there is so much choice of stuff to do!
 
Last edited:
pellet said:
I feel sorry for you, man, railway wise, you are gonna have your work cut out, to see 'england' at this rate!

I mean, there is so much choice of stuff to do!
Click to expand...

lol ya its hard even reading through all the suggestions, i never thought i would get 52 replies, you British sure like your trains:p
mainly i think what ill be doing is one big trip to Ffestiniog, the Severn Valley, Diccot, and mabye some other preseved railways.
another question i should have asked earlier, are the stations in UK (at least small ones like Oxford) open access where i can just go and stand on the platform with my tripod and not have to pay for tickets or be arrested as a suspected terrorist or something? many of the big stations here its hard to photograph without being questioned and many people have been arrested.
 
Well I hope you enjoy yourself here in the UK especially the rail scene. Don't want to be pedantic as you you don't live here but the West Highland Line included in "Englands's railways"?! It's well into Scotland. There are many good lines in England and Scotland to explore and the small network in another part of the UK - Ulster, is worth a look - sorry Wales don't want to miss you out. Just thought the wee correction worth mentioning as can be a sore point!
 
Spurr said:
Hi Nikos, further to my other reply, there will be a steam special running from York to Scarborough this summer, but I do not know which days per week or which loco will be used.

Cheers

harry Failem
Click to expand...

On Saturday the seventh of July A4 class "Bittern" will b making it's first mainline run after overhaul. It will run from Kings Cross to York then on to Scarbourgh and Back to York before returning to London. I'm gonna get the camera out! There probably will be a Scarbourgh Spa special which will probably use Lord Nelson or another loco from the NRM.

CoolMatty
 
nikos1 said:
lol ya its hard even reading through all the suggestions, i never thought i would get 52 replies, you British sure like your trains:p
mainly i think what ill be doing is one big trip to Ffestiniog, the Severn Valley, Diccot, and mabye some other preseved railways.
another question i should have asked earlier, are the stations in UK (at least small ones like Oxford) open access where i can just go and stand on the platform with my tripod and not have to pay for tickets or be arrested as a suspected terrorist or something? many of the big stations here its hard to photograph without being questioned and many people have been arrested.
Click to expand...

Oxford has ticket barriers, there may be a platform ticket that you can get, not tried it, I usually travel to somewhere by train to take photos. If you do go to a station bear these guidelines in mind.

Yes technically you are trying to go to the railways of the UK, not just England, you're lucky I let you get away with that :mad:

Andy:rolleyes:;)
 
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