Hey there, Starting in a few weeks time, I'll be spending 6 months in Brighton. While I'm not on vacation there and thus will likely only be able to travel on weekends, I'd like to make the most of that time and see as much in terms of trains as I can. Regarding my interests, I'd like to concentrate mainly on heritage railways and museums. If there are any must-haves in terms of contemporary railroading, I'll gladly consider them, but modern UK railroading is not that important to me. With that being said, my current definitive list based on my interests and TSW is: Volk's Electric Railway, since I'm in Brighton anyways and absolutely love old electrics. Class 313 on Seaford branch (they still run there, I hope?), as I love old electrics. West Somerset Railway I'm also currently considering (but I'm unsure if I'll be able to make it there): National Railway Museum in York - I'd love to see it but I don't know for certain if I'll be able to get that far north. Now that that's out of the way, I thought I'd ask the experts on here and get your recommendations for what there is to see. Anything in the south will be easier for me to get to but feel free to suggest things from every part of the UK. I look forward to reading your input! Thanks to anyone willing to help me out
You also have the bluebell heritage railway close to Brighton. You can get there by train to east grinstead Station. The bluebell railway runs services from there. Kent and East Sussex heritage railway not far from Brighton. In Tenterden. Spa valley railway in tunbridge wells. If you head into London there's the transport museum. Also a few other railway museums. There's also the epping Ongar heritage railway. This disused part of the central line on the London underground. And many more not all that far from Brighton.
Highly recommend making it down to York for the NRM. They’ve just had a new exhibit arrive which will likely be of interest to you…either way, it’s a great way to see plenty of stock that isn’t just native to the UK. https://twitter.com/railwaymuseum/status/1549040796187369472?s=21&t=V5zzrr3SWkZ-AlpcGaue-g
Thanks a bunch for those. I didn't realize how many of these fine sights are close to Brighton. Thanks again I certainly plan on going there. I just don't know how much time I'll have for travelling based on my workload in Brighton. If there's any possibility though, I'll take it. That new loco is looking rather exciting
I love the Volks electric railway. It’s a few years since I’ve been on it. If it’s a nice day, you can top up your tan as it takes you down to near the nudist beach. WSR is a long way from Brighton so you would need a separate trip or spend a weekend down there. If you can get to Alton or Alresford in Hampshire, I can recommend the Watercress Line. NRM is well worth a visit if you are oop north and it’s free to enter.
If you do venture north you might consider Darlington Railway Museum a.k.a. Head of Steam (which will be closing for major renovation at the end of this year- in the interests of transparency I am a member of the Friends organization) and Locomotion in Shildon (where I took my profile picture) both of which are on the route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway's original main line. Make for a good weekend with York.
Thanks for your input. I’ve added the Watercress Line to my list I already stumbled across Locomotion while looking into the NRM this evening but I didn’t know about Darlington yet (which might be interesting to see itself because of TVL). As you say, I can see this all coming together as a possible weekend trip up north if I can arrange it.
I think Locomotion is its own thing now though it started as part of the NRM- I believe both are still part of the Science Museum group. It wasn't even going to be open to the public initially- just overflow storage! Happily as a national museum there's some obligation for them to have a high percentage of their items on display and someone realized that opening the new shed to the public would help in that respect. The visitor numbers apparently came as a huge surprise. Be advised that the main line station in Darlington is Bank Top. Head of Steam is housed in the North Road Station building which is one stop up the S&DR line from Bank Top and doesn't feature in the TVL route. (It does feature in The Weardale and Teesdale Network in the '60s if you have Train Simulator.) Trains run from Bishop Auckland to Saltburn and, if you're in Bishop and go round the back of B&Q, past the Post Office depot and through an inconspicuous gap in a fence you'll find the Weardale Railway's Bishop Auckland station whence you can go to Stanhope. The trains, especially on the Weardale, are not rapid so if you were interested in making a journey you'd probably have little time for anything else.
Brighton... I can't help but feel sorry for you. Any way apart from NRM and shildon I would recommend the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire which will be a good day out and has plenty of interesting features.
Just had a quick look at their website - interesting features, indeed. Anyways, added to my list, thanks a lot
I would also recommend the Swanage Railway, its west of Poole (where I live, which is west of Brighton but its worth a weekend day trip). https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/ It depends on how far you are willing to travel. I would also recommend the National Railway Museum. I havent been for a few years but its a great place to go. Oh and if you speak to TrainSim-Matt see if you can arrange a trip to DTG Towers in chatham (Dovetail Games, Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TZ) :p Regards Hentis .
Good call. Thanks It’s not so much about willing (cause I’m more than willing) but about how much time I’ll have. Unfortunately, I’ll only be able to tell how much free time I’ve got on my hands once I’m in Brighton. For now I’m only collecting ideas and will start making concrete plans as soon as I can in Brighton.
I’d just like to post a little message to all of you. All of your ideas and inputs are highly appreciated and I’m somewhat overwhelmed by how quickly all of you came to my aid. Many thanks to all of you! This is not supposed to mean that I’m closing the thread in any way though - I’m still looking for any inputs you might have. Just wanted to thank all of you
Hello there everyone! Sorry for the revival of this old threat, but I thought it the most fitting place to report back on my stay in Brighton. Before I start, a heartfelt thank you to all of you for your suggestions! I got back to Germany roughly a week ago. The start and end of my stay were already amazing since I got to experience the Eurostar for myself - what better way to see a new country than by starting with its trains? Now, on to what transpired. Volk’s Electric Railway Been on it twice. What a lovely little railroad. Brighton Toy and Model Museum I can wholeheartedly recommend this. They’ve got an amazing collection of old model railways of different eras. Class 313 – Seaford Branch I’m pleased to report that I have managed to ride on 313 201 not once, but twice on a return trip to Seaford. I do have to say, both ECW in general and the Class 313 are very well reproduced in TSW. Got a 377 to Eastbourne as well. A Weekend up North - I did manage to stay a weekend in Darlington and visited the National Railway Museum, Head of Steam, and Locomotion. What a trip! The NRM has a truly fantastic collection (as does Locomotion) and Head of Steam was lovely as well. Way smaller, of course, but just being there in the cradle of the modern railways was very atmospheric. Spa Valley Railway Also made my way there twice. Both times, their Class 31 broke down, which made for some very exciting afternoons of problem-solving and keeping the trains running. Overall, not as impressive as the next heritage railway, but still worth a visit. Bluebell Railway My God, what a heritage railway. The stations are beautiful, the scenery is stunning, the trains are impressive, and the staff are forthcoming. Added up, I visited it thrice in my time there and caught something new every time. Their little museums and shops are nice as well. I particularly loved the old Metropolitan Railway coaches. Linking a trip there with some hiking in Ashdown Forest (which I did) is amazing! London Transport Museum Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed here. Their collection is lovely but smaller than I hoped (at least without the depot, which I didn’t get to) and very much aimed at children. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I prefer museums addressed at more mature audiences. Oh well, I certainly don’t regret seeing it. London Postal Museum Their narrow-gauge electric railway is fantastic! I enjoyed every minute of that ride and looking at the exhibits afterwards. The museum itself was not much to my taste (for the same reasons as with the Transport museum) but the train ride more than made up for that. I highly recommend it! Nene Valley Railway I saved the best bit for last. I actually managed to get a place on their “Diesel Freight Driver Experience” and was lucky enough to drive 45 041 Royal Tank Regiment with an unfitted freight train attached to it (hence my new profile picture/avatar). In total, I got to drive the entire route once. What an unforgettable experience this was! Sitting in the cab I had seen so often in TSW previously and getting to control the real thing – fabulous! I will never forget it. My thanks to all the people involved for making it happen. And that’s more or less it as far as trains are concerned. As you can see, I didn’t make it to the West Somerset Railway. I just didn’t manage to fit it in early on and then, at the end of my stay, they weren’t running anymore. I would have wanted to fit more trains in, but between non-train-related activities and working, I fit in all I could. Thank you all for helping me make my stay amazing! I absolutely enjoyed my six months in Brighton and I’m sure this won’t be the last time I visit the UK. Cheers
I live in Lincolnshire and this is the quickest heritage line for me to get to and I must agree that it is a fabulous line and the staff (volunteers?) are wonderful. The peak is a beautiful loco and I love going to see this one when it runs due to the sound it makes and the fact I have quite a strong personal connection to it as well which just makes it better. They also have some European coaches there too and I believe one was recently restored which is nice. Really glad you enjoyed it mate!
I can attest to that! Quite a lot, actually. I was rather thrown when I saw a German Köf II diesel shunter in one of their sidings. Did not expect that
Is that the red one at Overton? Speaking of Overton that is a beautiful station which I think I may pay a visit over the weekend if the wife doesn't find a job to be done!
Yeah I think that is it as it seems to look familiar and is in the yard at Overton. I don't think it is as good condition now as it was then visually. Ha thanks mate, I am going to need it!!
Absolutely visit the Bluebell Railway. It's one of the best preserved railways in the country. Plenty of of things to see and do, enough to last an entire day. Coming from Brighton, get a train to East Croydon and then a train to East Grinstead. You'll be able to see to see the Bluebell's station as soon as you get off the train.
Maybe give Eastleigh a try. They have plenty of high speed action with SWR's 444s & 450s. Get the occasional Southampton - Brighton on weekdays with Southern. 2 giant yards next to the station. Loads of freight with GBRf & DB & occasionally Network Rail 153s. If you go on just the right day in the week you can usually find the rare SLC Operations and LSL running 43s and occasionally 20s from Crewe to Eastleigh. And just a bit up from the station is a huge works where they have 442s, 08s 07s, 73s and when I went I seen some 315 Overground coaches. Last but not least they have a works where they have some 701s on tests. If you decide to go definitely check RealtimeTrains to see the services.
