2015 tour : suggestions please

My tour I hope to do next summer takes in the following

ELR
K&WVR
Bolton Abbey
NRM
NYMR
National Tram Museum, Crich
Peak Rail
GCR(N)
GCR
Battlefield Line
Chasewater
Foxfield
Churnet Valley
SVR
Llangollen
Festiniog
Welsh Highland

Any suggestions for additions broadly along the route? (railways and historic paces of interest)

I think the order is fairly sensible

 

Much will clearly depend on your timing, but as you will be coming down to Chasewater, why not think about dropping into the Amerton Railway (5 miles from Stafford, towards Uttoxeter) too.

Whilst at Crich you are within a few miles of Peak Rail and the delightful Steeple Grange Light Railway, with the Midland Railway Centre not far away either.

Chris

 

Middleton Railway and best if possible 18th & 19th July for Hunslet 150 celebration of the first engine been built by Hunslet.

 

You know how much you want to drive another hour southwards from the SVR to the GWSR...

 

I do but trying to keep the petrol bill reasonable.

 

Foxfield and the Knotty coaches.

 

You'll have to help me out with the geography a bit fellers as I don't know where some of these places are in relation to my route.

 

I think I'd be brutal and cut either GCR(N) or the Battlefield Line (or both) as I don't really think there is a lot to commend either to someone with limited time - and if you goon a weekday I'm not sure whether they'll be open and running trains- the same may apply to Chasewater too. Think about substituting the Ecclesbourne Valley or Peak Rail instead (or even, as suggested, the GWSR)

 

Chasewater's a nice place if you're in the area, but not somewhere to go out of your way to go to by any means - I think steam is only on Sundays. Might be worth it if theyvhave one of their galas though, especially if you like industrials. Think they have some interesting freight as well. Whenever I visit I always have an urge to get a brush out and slap some paint on, well, most things actually! I haven't been to either EVR or peak rail, but peak rail looks good, it's definitely up there on my list, their LMSCA interests me the most!

 

Near Leeds
KWVR
Middleton
Yorkshire Dale (Bolton Abbey)

Near Stoke-on-Trent
Foxfield (must do or you will regret it)
Churnet Valley
Amerton Railway
Moseley Trust Apedale.

Near Matlock.
Peak Dale
Crick Trams
Midland Railway Trust.
Steeple Grange Light Railway.
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

Birmingham area.
Kingsbury water park with its approx 1 1/2 mile 7 1/2" railway and a good way to let your hair down.
Chasewater
Great Central
Battlefield

I hope that is a good start.

Also to help you find most of the lines http://www.heritagerailways.com/Visits_Map.php

 

Id recomend the EVR nice railway and the added bonus of Wirksworth Brewery at that end too

 

I hope they've improved operations since my visit. The guard needs to remember to put the handbrake on at the terminus and the driver needs to realise that creating vacuum on the loco to ease up without splitting the vac pipes will result in the train brakes coming off. Put the two together and the train sets back a good half-coach length whilst everyone is still getting off.

 

I would have thought that the South Bedfordshire Railway would be top of your list.

 

If he was heading further south he could take in the Meon Valley and Folkestone Harbour projects too

On a more serious note, OP... how long are you taking over this trip?

Just thinking that, if it was me, I would choose to do less sites and take the time enjoy each one more. If I did that number of railways in one trip, it would feel like I was dashing from one to the next and be too many to really enjoy, take in and soak up the unique aspects of each one. By the time I got back, frankly they would have all merged into one in my mind.

I have an annual tradition of going off on a week-long road trip in the summer, while Mrs DB goes off camping with her mates. I deliberately limit myself to a maximum of three railway attractions per trip, precisely so I don't feel like Anneka Rice (or Annabel Croft) in an episode of Treasure Hunt (showing my age, I know).

My 2015 trip is planned to take in the KESR, Bluebell and Amberley. It wouldn't take a huge amount of juggling to add the Sittingbourne & Kemsley, East Kent, Spa Valley, RH&DR, Mid Hants and Didcot to that list but, as noted, I like to take the time to enjoy the unique ambience of each site.

If I did more it would feel like some form of extreme train spotting, doing it for the sake of underlining names on a list, rather than really enjoying each railway.

Each to their own but, in terms of the experience and real enjoyment, on such excursions I think less can often be more. Plus, for me, there's much more to life than railways... there's a lot more to see on my annual trips too!

 

thanks for the insider knowledge, which is hat I suppose I want I guess. I'll amend the list as I go on (in italics). I've added Foxfield as It sounded like a threat if I didn't :-( (and it's on the way across to Bridgenorth)

I'm planning a fortnight trip so I guess if I can do two locations a day, I can fit in a couple of dozen locations if they are close enough.

 

Interesting point about rushed itineraries. That looks a pretty civilised amount to do in a fortnight to me. I've been tight on free time in the last couple of years, generally working six day weeks during the main season and wanting to use a lot of those seventh days for family too, so my railway trips have been some pretty ambitious blats at times so I can at least get a taste of everything I want to in the little time I have.

For a while I got right out of the habit of spending an entire day at one line and it seemed like a waste if I wasn't getting in several at a time. I did an MRC/Peak Rail/Ecclesbourne day trip last summer that worked perfectly - time for a round trip and a general sussing out of all three as I made my first visits to them. Was a long round trip from Devon but doing it in one run kept costs down and more than anything it was a recce to get a sense of where I'd want to go back to and spend more time.

I also tend to ram a lot into a day when visiting the local lines I'm really familiar with (a Bodmin/Launceston/Dartmoor triple-header or a Swanage/Seaton/Lynton & Barnstaple/West Somerset sprint for instance).

But there is a lot to be said for slowing down and properly savouring somewhere too when the line's long and varied enough for it, and having two whole days at the NYMR in October was lovely. And I managed to do a full North Norfolk day this August without feeling like I was wasteful for not trying to cane in the Bure Valley and Bressingham while I was in that direction, so I'm getting better.

Anyway, I think Reading General's plan looks great, quite envious!

 

You could try tacking on a visit to the Derwent Valley Light Railway ( http://www.dvlr.org.uk/ ) after seeing the exhibits in the NRM. Also the Bala Lake Railway wouldn't be a major diversion on your journey from Llangollen to the Ffestiniog Railway.

 

Do you really want to cram so much in? In your position, I would have a full day at the Worth Valley and Great Central railways (Probably the East Lancs too, but have never been on this one, so can't be too dogmatic) while the NYMR merits a couple of days to itself if you want to do it justice.

 

That's why only want to visit the unmissable places.... I was thinking two days for the NYMR which is the main destination

 

You'll EASILY fill two days there! I spent a day there in 2007 and it flew past - and I didn't even explore Goathland village or travel into Whitby.

30825 and 34101 may be ready by then too. If so the NYMR will have a couple of decent engines for you to travel behind as well!