The great British heritage trains you should ride – before they disappear
The recent threat to Britain’s most frequent steam operation – Scotland’s famous Jacobite (aka The Hogwarts Express) between Fort William and Mallaig, which was briefly banned from operation due to a dispute over door locks – may now have blown over, but it’s far from the only dark cloud that’s loomed over the UK’s heritage railways of late.
Frankly, it’s been a tough few years for those dedicated to making sure that future generations will be able to appreciate the visceral sight and sound of a steam locomotive hard at work – without question, the most expressive of machines. And it’s only getting harder.
The pandemic and a host of rising costs have made it tough to balance the books, even for non-profits with a small army working purely for the love of it. Now, they’re just hoping that the fascination and nostalgia for steam – combined with glorious sights from the window – will fill their trains and scant coffers.
As the charismatic chairman of British Rail, Sir Peter Parker, once said, “steam warms the market for railways”, and Network Rail – to its credit – continues to find space on the network for an astonishing variety of excursion trains.
For many passengers, a major part of the attraction is the opportunity to enjoy fine dining in style while watching the world go by, a pleasure that today’s train operating companies (with the exception of GWR) have all but abandoned.
Pullmans, or carriages refurbished to that standard, are the setting for tables of white napery, proper cutlery and glass, at which breakfast, lunch or dinner is served. Many heritage railways offer similar experiences, savoured at the slower speeds appreciated by serving staff with a soup bowl.
Besides more than 60 heritage railways operating steam trains over preserved standard-gauge lines independently of Network Rail, there are half a dozen organisations which offer steam trains over the national network on numerous routes. Most are one-offs, but a few are regular or even daily services. Though London and the major cities are the starting point of most excursions, smaller towns such as Poole, Woking, Telford and Lancaster are also springboards for a day out on the rails.
Here are some of Britain’s finest steam-powered rail journeys – where every ticket comes with the knowledge that you are helping to preserve these lovely beasts for railway-loving generations yet to come.
The Settle & Carlisle Line
Saving this railway linking Leeds and Carlisle was Michael Portillo’s proudest political achievement. No other railway in England can hold a candle to it for the grandeur of the rugged Pennine valleys that the line forges through, or the many viaducts that span them. Most famous of all is Ribblehead, so exposed to Northern gales that coal could be blown off shovels as the fireman struggled to maintain steam. The steep gradients call for skilled footplate work, but it’s the majestic peaks which glide past the window – with such evocative names as Ingleborough and Wild Boar Fell – that provide delight for the passengers. No wonder it’s the most popular of Network Rail’s routes for steam excursions.
Book it: Northern Belle (01270 899681; northernbelle.co.uk) has the Settle & Carlisle Steam Special from £495pp.
The Shakespeare Express
England’s most regular service puffs its way from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, which operates two return journeys on most Sundays until the autumn with the option of a three-course lunch or afternoon tea in Pullman cars. The train wanders through the gentle Warwickshire countryside once covered by the Forest of Arden to the picturesque town that owes so much to our most famous playwright.
Book it: Vintage Trains (0121 708 4960; vintagetrains.co.uk) has return journeys from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon from £35pp.
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway
A 14-mile section of one of the last main lines to be built now forms this delightful route, running from the picture-postcard town of Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse. Joining the train at Broadway, it is hard to believe that this period-piece is entirely reconstructed from the ground up. Fruit from the Vale of Evesham was once loaded at several of the stations en route, such as in Winchcombe, where the kiln of the pottery remains part of the skyline
Book it: Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (01242 621405; gwsr.com) has return journeys from Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse from £24.75pp.
The Poppy Line
Victorian journalist and poet Clement Scott gave this name to the area of the coastal district threaded by the North Norfolk Railway from Sheringham. From this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty there are views across the sea to the north, and over the National Trust’s Sheringham Park to the south, as the train weaves round the gentle slopes to the Georgian town of Holt.
Book it: The North Norfolk Railway (01263 820800; nnrailway.co.uk) has Day Rover tickets from £18pp.
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
This line is a favoured stamping ground for steam excursions by Saphos and Vintage Trains, thanks to the bucolic landscapes that lie to the east of Offa’s Dyke. South of Shrewsbury lies Wenlock Edge and AE Housman country, the jewel of Stokesay Castle, Ludlow with its Marcher Lord castle and the attractions of Hereford where some itineraries allow time to visit the cathedral, home to the Mappa Mundi.
Book it: Saphos Trains (0800 038 5320; saphostrains.com) has the Welsh Marches Express journey from £165pp.
The West Somerset Railway
Britain’s longest preserved line, the 20-mile West Somerset Railway begins at Bishops Lydeard, once the first station on the branch to Minehead. With views over the Quantocks on one side and the Brendon Hills on the other, trains call at several stations, including Stogumber (used by visitors to the nearby Bee World), Watchet (where the picturesque harbour is thought to have inspired Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner), and Dunster (for its National Trust-run castle and idyllic high street).
Book it: West Somerset Railway (01643 704996; west-somerset-railway.co.uk) has Rover Tickets from £32.50pp.
The Riviera Line
Hundreds of steam trains a day once chugged holidaymakers down to the resorts of Devon and Cornwall. Today, the glorious stretch of railway along the coast between Exeter and Teignmouth can be enjoyed on various luxurious excursions. Once inland, there are the infamous climbs over the steep Devon banks through the South Hams. Itineraries allow time to explore Plymouth, the harbour at Charlestown, or Fowey.
Book it: Railway Touring Company (01553 661500; railwaytouring.net) has the five-night West Country Explorer holiday from £1,795pp.
The North Wales Coast Express
Starting in Liverpool then passing through Chester, the railway serving the port of Holyhead touches the sea at various places as soon as it joins the Dee Estuary. There are spectacular highlights at Conwy beneath the castle walls and Robert Stephenson’s tubular bridge, and at the crossing of the Menai Strait by another of Stephenson’s triumphs.
Book it: Railway Touring Company (01553 661500; railwaytouring.net) has The North Wales Coast Express journey from £115pp.
Garden of England and the Sunset Steam Express
Steam Dreams and Belmond’s British Pullman offer many departures from London Victoria on circular routes. Both operators have Garden of England lunchtime tours, which weave along the Kent coast through Canterbury and Dover for the stretch beside the White Cliffs; while Steam Dreams’ Sunset Steam Express runs through the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Book it: Belmond British Pullman (020 4525 1139; belmond.com) has the Garden of England journey from £485pp.
Steam Dreams (01483 209888; steamdreams.co.uk) has the Sunset Steam Express journey from £75pp.
