List of British heritage and private railways
From TrainSpottingWorld, for Rail fans everywhere
This list of British heritage and private railways is intended as a list of railways in Great Britain and the Channel Islands that are privately owned or for kept, built and run for heritage. For rail museums, see List of British railway museums. More links at foot of page.
Many of the standard gauge railways were originally lines closed by British Railways under the Beeching cuts in the 1960s, and reopened as private and / or heritage lines.
Contents
England
Standard Gauge
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The engine sheds at Didcot Railway Centre
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Haworth station on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
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Goathland station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
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Mixed train on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
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Arley station on the Severn Valley Railway
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A general view of the Swanage Railway
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Bishops Lydeard station on the West Somerset Railway
- Appleby Frodingham Railway, Lincolnshire
- Astley Green Colliery Museum, Lancashire
- Avon Valley Railway, Gloucestershire
- Barrow Hill Engine Shed, Derbyshire (preserved Roundhouse Museum)
- Battlefield Line, Shackerstone, Leicestershire
- Bideford & Instow Railway, Devon
- Birmingham Railway Museum, Tyseley, West Midlands
- Bluebell Railway, East Sussex and West Sussex
- Bodmin & Wenford Railway, Cornwall
- Bowes Railway, Tyne and Wear
- Bristol Harbour Railway and Industrial Museum, Bristol
- Cambrian Railway Society, Oswestry, England
- Cambrian Railway Trust, Llynclys, England
- Chasewater Railway, Staffordshire
- Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway, Buckinghamshire
- Cholsey & Wallingford Railway, Oxfordshire
- Churnet Valley Railway, Staffordshire
- Colne Valley Railway, Essex
- Dartmoor Railway, Devon
- Dean Forest Railway, Gloucestershire
- Derwent Valley Light Railway, North Yorkshire
- Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire
- East Anglian Railway Museum, Essex
- East Kent Railway, Kent
- East Lancashire Railway, Lancashire and Greater Manchester
- East Somerset Railway, Somerset
- Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, Derbyshire
- Eden Valley Railway, Cumbria
- Elsecar Railway, South Yorkshire
- Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, North Yorkshire
- Epping Ongar Railway, Essex
- Foxfield Steam Railway, Staffordshire
- Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire
- Great Central Railway, Leicestershire
- Haig Colliery Mining Museum, Cumbria
- Helston Railway Preservation Company, Cornwall
- Isle of Wight Steam Railway, Isle of Wight
- Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, West Yorkshire
- Kent & East Sussex Railway, Kent and East Sussex
- Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway, Cumbria
- Lansalson branch line, Cornwall
- Lavender Line, East Sussex
- Lincolnshire Wolds Railway, Lincolnshire
- Mid Hants Watercress Railway, Hampshire
- Mid-Norfolk Railway, Norfolk
- Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, Suffolk
- Middleton Railway, West Yorkshire
- Midland Railway Centre, Derbyshire
- Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough
- North Norfolk Railway, Norfolk
- North Tyneside Steam Railway, Tyne and Wear
- North Yorkshire Moors Railway, North Yorkshire
- Northampton & Lamport Railway, Northamptonshire
- Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust, Northamptonshire
- Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway, Devon
- Peak Rail, Derbyshire
- Plym Valley Railway, Devon
- Ribble Steam Railway, Lancashire
- Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway, Northamptonshire
- Severn Valley Railway, Shropshire and Worcestershire
- Somerset and Dorset Railway, Midsomer Norton South, Somerset
- South Devon Railway, Devon
- Spa Valley Railway, Kent
- Swanage Railway, Dorset ("The Purbeck Line")
- Swindon and Cricklade Railway, Wiltshire
- Telford Steam Railway, Shropshire
- Weardale Railway, County Durham
- Wensleydale Railway, North Yorkshire
- West Somerset Railway, Somerset
- Wisbech and March Bramleyline, Cambridgeshire
Restored Victorian coach at the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway
Narrow Gauge Railways
- Abbey Light Railway Leeds
- Amberley Chalk Pits Museum includes narrow-gauge railway
- Amerton Railway, Staffordshire
- Beeches Light Railway - private
- Bicton Woodlands Railway
- Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway
- Bressingham Steam & Gardens
- Bromyard and Linton Railway - private
- Bure Valley Railway - Norfolk
- Cadeby Light Railway - now closed
- Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, North East Lincolnshire
- Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway, Derbyshire
- Devon Railway Centre, Devon
- Eaton Hall Railway - private
- Gartell Light Railway, Somerset
- Golden Valley Light Railway, Derbyshire
- Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry
- Hollycombe Steam Collection
- Kew Bridge Steam Museum, London
- Launceston Steam Railway, Cornwall
- Leighton Buzzard Railway
- London Post Office Railway - not open to the public
- Lynbarn Railway, Devon
- Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, Devon
- Moseley Railway Trust, Manchester
- Morwellham Quay Open Air Museum, Devon
- North Gloucestershire Narrow Gauge Railway
- North Ings Farm Railway, Lincolnshire
- Perrygrove Railway, Gloucestershire
- Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, Staffordshire
- Seaton Tramway, Devon
- Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, Kent
- Southend Pier
- South Tynedale Railway between Alston, Cumbria and Kirkhaugh, Northumberland
- Statfold Barn Private Railway - private
- Steeple Grange Light Railway
- Stevington and Turvey Railway - private
- Volks Electric Railway Brighton
- Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills, Essex
- West Lancashire Light Railway, Lancashire
- Windmill Farm Railway, Lancashire
- Yaxham Light Railway
Miniature Railways
The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in 1981
Trains on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
- Audley End Railway
- Beer Heights Light Railway, Devon
- Bekonscot Light Railway, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
- Berkeley Light Railway, Gloucestershire
- Bure Valley Railway, Wroxham, Norfolk
- Dobwalls Forest Railroad near Liskeard, Cornwall
- Downs Railway Colwall, Near Ledbury Herefordshire
- Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway & Country Park, Hampshire
- Echills Wood Railway, Kingsbury Waterpark, Warickshire
- Frimley Lodge Park Railway
- Gorse Blossom Farm Railway, Devon
- Great Cockcrow Railway, Chertsey, Surrey
- Kirklees Light Railway, West Yorkshire
- Lakeside Miniature Railway, Southport, Merseyside
- Lappa Valley Steam Railway, Cornwall
- Malden District Society of Model Engineers, Thames Ditton, Surrey
- Markeaton Park Light Railway, Derby
- Moors Valley Country Park near Bournemouth, Dorset
- North Bay Railway, Scarborough, North Yorkshire
- Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, Cumbria
- Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, Kent
- Royal Victoria Country Park near Southampton, Hampshire
- Ruislip Lido Railway, Ruislip, Greater London
- Stapleford Miniature Railway, Leicestershire
- Wells and Walsingham Light Railway, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
- Weston Park Railway, Shropshire
- Wicksteed Park Railway, Northamptonshire
- Woking Miniature Railway, Knaphill, Surrey
Full details of all miniature railways
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A 1931 Leeds tram seen at Crich Tramway Village in 2004
Tramways
Tramway operation in Britain almost ceased entirely in the post-WWII years. Once Glasgow had disposed of its lines, the sole survivor was the Blackpool Corporation Tramways, although considerably reduced in size. In the late 20th century there has been a revival in this form of transport, notably in Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, the West Midlands and Croydon, among others.
There are, however, the following places where preserved trams operate:
- Beamish Museum
- Black Country Museum
- The National Tramway Museum (at Crich)
- East Anglia Transport Museum, near Lowestoft, Suffolk
- Heaton Park Tramway, Manchester
- Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society [1] Birkenhead
- Seaton Tramway, Devon
Scotland
Standard Gauge
- Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway
- Caledonian Railway (Brechin), Angus
- Keith and Dufftown Railway
- Royal Deeside Railway
- Scottish Industrial Railway Centre
- Strathspey Steam Railway
Narrow Gauge
Miniature Railways
Tramways
Wales
Standard Gauge
- Amman Valley Railway Society
- Bridgend Valleys Railway
- Denbigh & Mold Junction Railway
- Gwili Railway
- Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway
- Llangollen Railway
- Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
- Swansea Vale Railway
- Vale of Glamorgan Railway
Narrow Gauge
- Bala Lake Railway, Gwynedd
- Brecon Mountain Railway
- Corris Railway, Gwynedd
- Ffestiniog Railway, Gwynedd
- Glyn Valley Tramway
- Llanberis Lake Railway, Gwynedd
- Penrhyn Railway
- Snowdon Mountain Railway, Gwynedd
- Talyllyn Railway, Gwynedd
- World's first heritage railway and inspiration for The Titfield Thunderbolt
- Teifi Valley Railway, Ceredigion
- Vale of Rheidol Railway, Ceredigion
- Welsh Highland Railway, Gwynedd
- Welshpool & Llanfair Railway, Powys
Miniature Railways
- Conwy Valley Railway Museum, Betws-y-Coed
- Fairbourne & Barmouth Steam Railway, Gwynedd
- Rhyl Miniature Railway
Tramways
Northern Ireland
See List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland.
Isle of Man
See List of heritage railways in the Isle of Man.
Channel Islands
Alderney
Jersey
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Heritage railways in Great Britain |
- British narrow gauge railways
- List of funiculars
- British Rail
- Conservation in the United Kingdom
- List of heritage railways in the Republic of Ireland
- List of heritage railways
- List of Conservation topics
- List of railway companies
- Mountain railway
- Rail transport in the United Kingdom
- UK topics
External Links
- International Working Steam [4]
