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West of England
West Somerset Railway
Our Railway, a true country branch line of the old Great Western Railway is full of fascination whether you are looking for a nostalgic ride back in time through lovely countryside or to study the railway and industrial heritage which our line preserves.
The historic steam locomotives, coaches and wagons, and the buildings of our ten unique stations linked by a twenty mile scenic journey will repay hours of exploration. The surrounding countryside is as varied as it is beautiful.
The gently rolling Quantock hills and distant Exmoor, unspoilt villages and farms nestling in leafy lanes, the cliffs and coast of the Bristol Channel with views of distant South-Wales, confident Church Towers, Dunster's imposing Castle and Minehead's seaside charm are all waiting to be discovered.
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AVON VALLEY RAILWAY
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The Avon Valley Railway (AVR) is a three-mile-long heritage railway based at Bitton station in South Gloucestershire, England, not far from Bristol and is run by a local group: The Avon Valley Railway Company Ltd. The railway follows the Avon Valley south-east from Oldland Common, through Bitton and alongside the River Avon towards Kelston and Bath. The railway shares its route with the Sustrans cycleway and footpath, the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.
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Visit us
Address
Bitton Station,
Bath Road,
Bitton
Bristol, BS30 6HD
Contact
+44 117 932 5538
Bodmin & Wenford Railway
The Great Western Railway opened its branch line from Bodmin Road to Bodmin General 27 May 1887, and on 3 September 1888 a junction line was opened to connect with the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway which had opened its line from Bodmin North to Wadebridge in 1834. The line closed on 3 October 1983 following the demise of freight traffic from Wenford.
In 1984 the Bodmin Railway Preservation Society was formed, and they held their first open day at Bodmin General two years later. 1987 saw the Cornish Steam Locomotive Society move their equipment from Bugle to Bodmin.
A Light Railway Order was granted in 1989, and the following year passenger services recommenced between Bodmin General and Bodmin Road, although by now that station had been renamed "Bodmin Parkway". A new intermediate station known as Colesloggett Halt was brought into use. In 1996 the former junction line was also reopened, with another new station provided as Boscarne Junction.
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Visit us
Address
Bodmin General Station,
Bodmin,
Cornwall,
PL31 1AQ
Contact
+44 1208 73555
The Dartmouth Steam Railway
The Dartmouth Steam Railway, formerly known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, is a 6.7-mile (10.8 km) heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between Paignton and Kingswear in Devon, England. Much of the railway's business is from summer tourists from the resorts of Torbay, who travel to Kingswear, where the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry takes them across the River Dart to Dartmouth.
The line is owned and operated by Dart Valley Railway plc. This company also owns Dart Pleasure Craft Limited, which operates the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry as well as river and coastal cruises.The railway and connecting boat and bus services are jointly promoted as the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company.
Unusually amongst heritage railways, it is a commercial operation which does not realy on volunteer labour or charitable donations, although a few volunteers help at Churston railway station.
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Dartmoor Railway
The route of the Dartmoor Railway is part of what was once the London South Western Railway main line from London Waterloo to Plymouth and North Cornwall opened as a through route in 1876. When many of the lines in the South West were axed in the 1960s, this particular stretch of line was kept open to transport ballast from Meldon Quarry for use on all parts of the British Railways Southern Region.
Meldon Quarry and the stretch of line from Coleford Junction to the Quarry were subsequently sold to Aggregate Industries whom together with Devon County Council, Dartmoor National Park and RMS Locotec formulated the concept of the Dartmoor Railway. The concept was to create a Community Railway that would enable visitors to access and enjoy the National Park without the use of a car.
In 2008 the Dartmoor Railway was acquired by Iowa Pacific Holdings, who aim to increase freight usage of the line and re-introduce passenger services from Okehampton to Exeter.
Heritage Services have been running on the line for more than ten years, initially between Okehampton and Meldon Quarry and more recently to Sampford Courtenay on Saturdays. Occasional special events run over the whole length of the line
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East Somerset Railway
The East Somerset Railway is a 2 1⁄2-mile (4 km) heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells.
In 1971/72, the artist David Shepherd came across, viewed and later purchased Cranmore station and a section of the track to house and run his two locomotives; the BR 2-10-0 Class 9F No. 92203 "Black Prince" and BR Standard 4 4-6-0 No. 75029 'The Green Knight'. In 1973, the line opened offering Brake Van rides before extending first to Merryfield in 1980 and then to Mendip Vale and into Cranmore station itself in 1985.
Today the railway plays host to a variety of preserved diesel and steam locomotives.
The East Somerset Railway only operates the line between Cranmore, Cranmore West, Merryfield Lane Halt and Mendip Vale. Between the last two sections, the railway runs through the Doulting Railway Cutting Site of Special Scientific Interest. The section between Cranmore and the mainline is used for heavy quarry traffic to the nearby Merehead Quarry.
In 1991, a new station building was constructed at Cranmore which now includes a cafe, booking office, gift shop and toilets. The platform then extends to the old station which is now a museum. On the platform is an old K4 red telephone box which incorporates a stamp machine and post box. It was made around 1927 and is one of only 50 made to that design. Opposite the platform is a signal box dating from 1904 and is the standard GWR pattern of the period. Close to Cranmore station are the engine sheds and workshop (known together as Cranmore Shed) which were built in 1973, (during the preserved line's restoration at the time).
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Visit us
Address
Cranmore Railway
Station
Cranmore,
Shepton Mallet,
Somerset
BA4 4QP
Contact
+44 1749 880417
South Devon Railway
The SDR is a seven mile former Great Western Railway branch line, built in 1872, which runs along the stunning valley of the River Dart between Buckfastleigh and Totnes. We run steam trains with heritage rolling stock and offer a wonderful all day, all weather attraction for families and people of all ages.
Ride the South Devon Railway and, while you are with us, you can visit the Totnes Rare Breeds Farm and Dartmoor Otters & Buckfast Butterflies: 3 Great Attractions, 1 Amazing Day.
Find us just off the A38 at Buckfastleigh, very close to the famous Buckfast Abbey, or by train to Totnes on the Great Western main line.
Buckfastleigh is around 22 miles from Exeter, 21 miles from Plymouth, 19 miles from Dartmouth and 13 miles from Paignton.
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Visit us
Address
South Devon Railway Trust,
The Station, Dartbridge Road Buckfastleigh
Devon,
TQ110DZ
Contact
+44 1364 644 370
Travel on the South Devon Railway and you can then use your ticket to get 15% off admission to Totnes, Berry Pomeroy, Dartmouth and Okehampton Castles . Discounts are valid within a week of your train journey.
Plym Valley Railway
The line was originally part of the South Devon and Tavistock Railway, a 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in) gauge broad gauge railway connecting Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon, England. This line opened in 1859, was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1 435 mm) in 1892, and closed in 1962.
In 1982, local enthusiasts formed a group to restore part of the line as the Plym Valley Railway. The first section was reopened in May 2008, when trains were able to run along the 1.2 km (3⁄4 mi) line to Lee Moor crossing, where the line was crossed by the 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in) Lee Moor Tramway (now the West Devon Way cycleway). The new station was built to the north of the site of the original Marsh Mills station, as this is the location of the line that serves the Marsh Mills china clay factory. The new station was equipped with a shop, a cafeteria and a small museum.
On 30 December 2012, the retained line was extended to Plym Bridge, bringing it to 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) in length
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Swindon & Cricklade Railway
The S&CR was one of the first to undertake the complete reconstruction of a standard-gauge railway with no legacy of track or buildings. The Railway now offers a round-trip passenger journey of approximately five miles with trains run between Blunsdon and Hayes Knoll, plus an extension south to a new station at Mouldon Hill Country Park within the Borough of Swindon.
Blunsdon is the main 'visitor centre', with car parking, restaurant, shop etc, while Hayes Knoll gives visitors the opportunity to see various restoration projects progressing in the engine shed, now extended to include five roads. There has been active restoration on the railway since its earliest years – GWR 0-6-2T No 5637 and Modified Hall No 7903 'Foremarke Hall' being the best known.
Motive power is provided by resident Tkh 0-6-0T "Spartan", while Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST "Swordfish" is expected to return to steam in 2015. Diesels including ex-BR 08 and 09 and Class 73 electro diesel E6003 "Sir Herbert Walker", plus industrials.
Passenger stock includes Mk1s and a two-car DEMU 'Thumper' unit, while an active Vintage Train Project is expecting to run its first train in 2015.
North of Hayes Knoll, the northern extension is being occupied by further tracklaying works towards Cricklade.
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Helston Railway
Helston Railway has been working since 2005 to reopen part of the old Helston Branch line which used to run between Gwinear Road and Helston. There is currently over a mile of track that has been re-laid and is operational with extension work ongoing.
Trains operated by either a steam or diesel locomotive run between Prospidnick Halt to the north and Truthall Halt to the south. Car parking is only available at Prospidnick Halt which is reached via Trevarno Farm where you will find the shop/ticket office (Res Van) and Buffet (Class 103 DMU)
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Visit us
Address
Contact
Trevarno Farm,
Prospidnick
Helston,
Cornwall
TR13 0RY
07901 977 597