If you wanted to visit Yorkshire, you would certainly have no shortage of reasons to do so. Whether it’s to visit ‘Bronte County’, the Yorkshire Dales or to take a ride on the iconic railway which featured in the film version of ‘The Railway Children’, you are guaranteed to have a memorable trip. We’re travelling […]
Author: Andrew Brooke-Reid
Crewe Heritage Centre
The Crewe HC is somewhere i’ve been longing to go to for a considerable amount of time. Crewe works itself continues to produce locos today however what remains of the works is a fraction of the size of the original footprint. The Heritage Centre was established in 1987 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the […]
Kempton Steam Museum
Having previously lived near Kempton for over 20 years of my life, it’s crazy I didn’t think to visit this place sooner. The museum preserves the historic steam water pumping engines which was a key piece of infrastructure to provide clean water to large parts of London for over 100 years. The museum is home […]
Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
In a first for this blog, we’re visiting a heritage narrow gauge railway in North Devon; the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway which is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2023! Closed in 1935, volunteers have reinstated a 2 mile return journey from Woody Bay to Killington Lane. It’s an ambitious project with the aim of restoring […]
The Tarka Trail – Barnstaple to Torrington
Today we’re cycling a section of the North Devon Railway, specifically the Bideford extension railway from Barnstaple to Torrington. Passenger services along this line were withdrawn in 1965 although freight services continued until the eventual complete closure in the 80’s. Fortunately through preservation efforts of volunteers, there is almost something remaining for all stations along […]
Bishop’s Stortford, Dunmow and Braintree Railway – Braintree to Bannister Green Halt
The Bishop’s Stortford to Braintree branch line was closed in 1972 and has somewhat of an interesting history. Some argue that the line was simply opened to prevent other train companies of the time from getting a foothold in the east however due to mismanagement and dwindling passenger numbers, the line was eventually absorbed by […]
The Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway along with the Watercress Line at Mid Hants were staple railways of my childhood. The last time I came here was around 10 years ago and its great to be back. What made it all the more special is that this was actually a treat for my birthday weekend with my Mum […]
Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust
While in the region of the Northampton and Lamport railway, just a stones throw away from it is the Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust. This place it tiny, with a small museum, loco shed and small demonstration line. It does however have the odd few gems at the time of my visit. For example, this place […]
Northampton and Lamport Railway
Its Easter time and we’re at the Northampton and Lamport Railway in Northamptonshire. It’s currently quite a short railway with only a single station at Pitsford and Brampton as of writing this, however exciting news ahead…the line is in the process of extending back to Boughton and as you’ll see below, this is very nearly […]
Yeovil Railway Centre
This is probably the smallest railway centre I’ve been to however with engineering sheds, model railways, signalling demonstrations and one of the countries few remaining operational vaccum operated turntables, there is still plenty to appreciate in this small corner of Somerset. Speaking with volunteers there, the centre have plans to increase the length of the […]