Interactive map of standard gauge heritage railways in Great Britain.
Interactive map of miniature heritage railways in Great Britain.
This is a list of heritage, private and preserved railways throughout the United Kingdom , the Crown dependencies , and British Overseas Territories whether operational or closed, that are operated for charitable purposes or shareholder profit. Some also provide economic local transport. For rail museums, see List of British railway museums .
Many of the standard-gauge railways listed, including former branch lines and ex-mainline routes, were closed by British Railways under the Beeching Axe of the 1960s. Most have been restored and operate as heritage lines . A smaller number of lines were formerly industrial or colliery railways.
Many of these preserved railways are mentioned in national and international tour guides, and visits may form part of a school curriculum or feature in other studies, including civil engineering, mechanics, social, economic and political history, visual arts and drama.[citation needed ]
This list also includes tramways. Nearly all tram services in Britain ended in the 1950s and early 1960s, leaving just Blackpool Corporation Tramways , although some big cities have since revived them in the late 20th century onwards.
England
East of England
Mixed train on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
Restored double track section on the Mid-Norfolk Railway
Standard gauge
Colne Valley Railway , Castle Hedingham, Essex
Epping Ongar Railway , Ongar, Essex
Mid-Norfolk Railway , Dereham, Norfolk
Mid Suffolk Light Railway , Brockford, Suffolk
Nene Valley Railway , Wansford, Cambridgeshire
North Norfolk Railway , Sheringham, Norfolk
Railway centres and museums
Bressingham Steam and Gardens , Diss, Norfolk
East Anglian Railway Museum , Chappel & Wakes Colne Station, Essex
Mangapps Railway Museum , Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex
Railworld Wildlife Haven , Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Whitwell & Reepham Railway , Reepham, Norfolk
Narrow gauge
Miniature gauge
The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway
Audley End Railway , Essex
Bure Valley Railway , Aylsham, Norfolk
Bushey Miniature Railway , Bushey, Hertfordshire
East Herts Miniature Railway , Ware, Hertfordshire
Eaton Park Miniature Railway , Norwich, Norfolk
Fancott Miniature Railway , Bedfordshire
Rex Express, Paradise Wildlife Park , Hertfordshire
Great Woburn Railway , Woburn, Bedfordshire
Museum of Power , Langford, Essex
Wells & Walsingham Light Railway , Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
Tramways
East Midlands
Standard gauge
Great Central Railway (heritage railway) .
Battlefield Line , Shackerstone, Leicestershire
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway , Wirksworth, Derbyshire
Great Central Railway , Loughborough, Leicestershire
Lincolnshire Wolds Railway , Ludborough, Lincolnshire
Midland Railway – Butterley , Derbyshire
Mountsorrel Railway , Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Northampton & Lamport Railway , Pitsford and Brampton, Northamptonshire
Northants Ironstone Railway , Hunsbury Hill, Northamptonshire
Great Central Railway (Nottingham) , Ruddington, Nottinghamshire
Peak Rail , Matlock, Derbyshire
Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway , Rushden, Northamptonshire
Railway centres and museums
Narrow gauge
Billing Aquadrome Miniature Railway , Great Billing, Northamptonshire
Crowle Peatland Railway , Crowle, North Lincolnshire
Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway , Rowsley, Derbyshire
Golden Valley Light Railway , Butterley, Derbyshire
Greenlea Light Railway , Burbage, Leicestershire - private site
Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum , Irchester, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway , Skegness, Lincolnshire
Narrow Gauge Railway , Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
North Ings Farm Railway , Lincolnshire
Sherwood Forest Railway , Nottinghamshire
Steeple Grange Light Railway , Wirksworth, Derbyshire
Wicksteed Park Railway , Kettering, Northamptonshire
Miniature gauge
Tramways
A 1931 Leeds tram seen at Crich Tramway Village in 2004
North England
Goathland station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Standard gauge
Aln Valley Railway , Alnwick, Northumberland
Bowes Railway , Tyne and Wear
Derwent Valley Light Railway , Murton, North Yorkshire
East Lancashire Railway , Bury, Greater Manchester
Eden Valley Railway , Warcop, Cumbria
Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway , Embsay, North Yorkshire
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway , Haworth, West Yorkshire
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway , Haverthwaite, nr Staveley, Cumbria
Middleton Railway , Hunslet, West Yorkshire
North Tyneside Steam Railway , North Shields , Tyne and Wear
North Yorkshire Moors Railway , Pickering, North Yorkshire
Ribble Steam Railway , Preston, Lancashire
Stainmore Railway , Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
Tanfield Railway , Marley Hill, County Durham
Weardale Railway , Stanhope, County Durham
Wensleydale Railway , Leeming Bar, North Yorkshire
Yorkshire Wolds Railway , Sledmere–Fimber, East Yorkshire
Railway centres and museums
Beamish Museum & Railway Centre , County Durham
Carnforth Railway Centre , Carnforth, Lancashire
Crewe Heritage Centre , Crewe, Cheshire
Head of Steam , Darlington, County Durham
Haig Colliery Mining Museum , Cumbria
Leeds Industrial Museum , Armley, West Yorkshire
Locomotion , Shildon, County Durham
Monkwearmouth Station Museum , Sunderland (closed 2016)
National Railway Museum , York, North Yorkshire
South Yorkshire Transport Museum , Aldwarke, Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Stephenson Railway Museum , West Chirton, Tyne and Wear
Narrow gauge
The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in 1981
Miniature gauge
The North Bay Railway
Miniature Railway in Royden Park
All in one Miniature Railway , Knutsford nr Allostock, Cheshire
Blackpool Zoo Railway , Blackpool, Lancashire
Brookside Miniature Railway , Poynton, Cheshire
Dragon Miniature Railway , Marple, nr Stockport, Greater Manchester
High Legh Miniature Railway , High Legh, Cheshire
Whistlestop Valley , Clayton West, West Yorkshire
Knowsley Safari Park Railway , Knowsley, Merseyside
Halton Miniature Railway , Runcorn , Cheshire
Lakeside Miniature Railway , Pleasureland Southport , Merseyside
North Bay Railway , Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Pleasure Beach Express , Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire
Pugneys Light Railway , Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway , Cumbria
Wirral Model Engineering Society , Royden Park , Wirral , Merseyside
Saltburn Miniature Railway , Saltburn, North Yorkshire
South Park Miniature Railway , Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
Teesside Small Gauge Railway, Preston Park, Stockton-on-Tees
Walton Park Miniature Railway , Sale, Greater Manchester
Windmill Farm Railway , Bursough, Lancashire
Thorpe Light Railway, Whorlton, County Durham
Tramways
Wirral Tramway
Beamish Museum , County Durham
Bradford Industrial Museum , Eccleshill, (nr Bradford), West Yorkshire
Heaton Park Tramway , Manchester, Greater Manchester
Shipley Glen Tramway , Shipley, West Yorkshire
Wirral Transport Museum and Heritage Tramway , Birkenhead, Merseyside
South East
GWR Earl of Berkeley at Horsted Keynes Station, Bluebell Railway
Standard gauge
Bluebell Railway , Sheffield Park, Sussex
Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway , Chinnor, Oxfordshire / Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire
Cholsey & Wallingford Railway , Wallingford, Oxfordshire
East Kent Railway , Shepherdswell, Kent
Isle of Wight Steam Railway , Havenstreet, Isle of Wight
Kent & East Sussex Steam Railway , Tenterden, Kent
Lavender Line , Isfield, East Sussex
Rother Valley Railway , Robertsbridge, East Sussex (land purchases in progress)
Spa Valley Railway , Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Watercress Line , New Alresford, Hampshire
Railway centres and museums
The engine sheds at Didcot Railway Centre
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre , Quainton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Chatham Historic Dockyard Railway, Kent
Didcot Railway Centre , Didcot, Oxfordshire
London Transport Museum , Covent Garden, Central London
Southall Railway Centre , Southall, West London
Narrow gauge
Trains on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
The Volks Electric Railway
Amberley Museum Railway , Amberley, West Sussex
Great Bush Railway , Tinkers Park, Hadlow Down, East Sussex
Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway , near Sittingbourne, Kent
Exbury Gardens Railway , Beaulieu, Hampshire
Hayling Seaside Railway , Hayling Island, Hampshire
Hollycombe Steam Collection , near Liphook, Hampshire
Hythe Pier Ferry Railway , Hampshire
Old Kiln Light Railway , Rural Life Centre, Reeds Road, Tilford, Farnham, Surrey
Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway , Hanworth/Hampton, London.
London Museum of Water & Steam , Kew Bridge, Brentford, London
Mail Rail , short section of the former London Post Office Railway opened to public since 2017
Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway , Kent
Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway , Kent
Volk's Electric Railway , Brighton, East Sussex
Miniature gauge
Bekonscot Light Railway , Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Blenheim Park Railway , Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
Beech Hurst Park Miniature Railway , Haywards Heath, West Sussex
Crowborough Miniature Railway , Crowborough, East Sussex
Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway , Hampshire
Frimley Lodge Park Railway , Surrey
Great Cockcrow Railway , Chertsey, Surrey
Harlington Locomotive Society , Hayes, Middlesex
Hastings Miniature Railway , Hastings Seafront, East Sussex
Ickenham Miniature Railway , Ickenham, London
Jocks Lane Miniature Railway , Bracknell, Berkshire
Leatherhead Model Railway , Leatherhead, Surrey
Malden District Society of Model Engineers , Thames Ditton, Surrey
Moors Valley Railway , near Ringwood, Hampshire
Pinewood Model Railway , Pinewood, Crowthorne
Reading Society of Model Engineers , Reading Berkshire
Royal Victoria Railway , Southampton, Hampshire
Ruislip Lido Railway , Ruislip, London
South Downs Light Railway , Pulborough, West Sussex
Swanley New Barn Railway , Swanley, Kent
Watford Miniature Railway , Cassiobury Park, Watford, Hertfordshire
Woking Miniature Railway , Knaphill, Surrey
South West
Bishops Lydeard station on the West Somerset Railway
A general view of the Swanage Railway
Standard gauge
Avon Valley Railway , Bitton, South Gloucestershire
Bodmin & Wenford Railway , Bodmin, Cornwall
Dartmouth Steam Railway , Paignton, Devon
Dean Forest Railway , Norchard, Gloucestershire
East Somerset Railway , Cranmore, Somerset
Helston Railway , Prospidnick, Cornwall
Plym Valley Railway , Marsh Mills, Plympton, Devon
North Dorset Railway , Shillingstone, Dorset
Somerset & Dorset Railway , Midsomer Norton, Somerset
South Devon Railway , Buckfastleigh, Devon
Swanage Railway , Swanage, Dorset
Swindon & Cricklade Railway , Blunsdon, Wiltshire
Tarka Valley Railway , Great Torrington, Devon
West Somerset Railway , Minehead, Somerset
Railway centres and museums
Narrow gauge
Restored Victorian coach at the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway
Bicton Woodland Railway , Devon
Devon Railway Centre , Bickleigh, Devon
Exmoor Steam Railway , Devon – private site
Gartell Light Railway , Templecombe, Somerset
Launceston Steam Railway , Launceston, Cornwall
Lea Bailey Light Railway . Gloucestershire / Herefordshire border
Lynbarn Railway , Devon
Lynton & Barnstaple Railway , Woody Bay, Devon
Morwellham Quay Open Air Museum , Devon
Exmouth Miniature Railway
Miniature gauge
The Beer Heights Light Railway
Beer Heights Light Railway , Devon
Berkeley Light Railway , Gloucestershire
Exmouth Miniature Railway , Devon
Gorse Blossom Farm Railway , Devon
Lappa Valley Steam Railway , Cornwall
Longleat Railway , Wiltshire
Moors Valley Railway , Ashley Heath, Dorset
Perrygrove Railway , Coleford, Gloucestershire
Bickington Steam Railway , Trago Mills, Devon
Tramways
West Midlands
Arley station on the Severn Valley Railway
Standard gauge
Cambrian Heritage Railways , Oswestry and Llynclys, Shropshire
Chasewater Railway , Chasewater Country Park, Brownhills, Staffordshire
Churnet Valley Railway , Cheddleton, Staffordshire
Foxfield Light Railway , Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway , Toddington, Gloucestershire and Broadway, Worcestershire
Severn Valley Railway , Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Telford Steam Railway , Horsehay, Shropshire
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Railway centres and museums
Narrow gauge
Amerton Railway , Staffordshire
Apedale Valley Light Railway , Chesterton, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire
Bromyard and Linton Light Railway , Bromyard, Herefordshire – private site
Moseley Railway Trust , Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire
North Gloucestershire Railway , Toddington, Gloucestershire
Perrygrove Railway , Gloucestershire
Rudyard Lake Steam Railway , Rudyard, Staffordshire
Statfold Barn Railway , Tamworth, Staffordshire – private site
Miniature gauge
Tramways
Dudley tram No. 5 of 1920 at Black Country Museum
Proposed
East of England
North of England
South of England
Combe Rail , Mortehoe-Woolacombe, Devon
Remembrance Line , Folkestone, Kent
North Somerset Railway , Radstock, Somerset
Shillingstone Railway Project , Shillingstone, Dorset (under construction)
Tarka Valley Railway , Torrington, Devon (display museum at former station house, public house only)
Vale of Berkeley Railway , Sharpness, Gloucestershire
Defunct
This is a list of former heritage railway attractions that are sadly defunct.
Ashford Steam Centre , Willesborough, Kent – closed in 1976.
Abbey Light Railway , Kirkstall, West Yorkshire – closed in 2012.
Brockham Railway Museum , Dorking, Surrey – closed 1982 (Stock moved to Amberley Museum Railway , West Sussex)
Bolebroke Castle Miniature Railway , East Sussex – closed 2012
Buxton Steam Centre , Derbyshire – closed in 1987, as Peak Rail moved to Darley Dale.
Cadeby Light Railway , Cadeby, Leicestershire – closed in 2005.
Chester Zoo monorail , Chester Zoo , Chester
Creekmoor Light Railway , Poole, Dorset – closed in 1973
Dinting Railway Centre , Derbyshire – closed in 1991, (Society moved to Ingrow (West) station on the KWVR, West Yorkshire.)
Dowty Railway Centre , Ashchurch, Gloucestershire – closed in the 1980s
Eastbourne Tramway , East Sussex – closed 1969, (moved to Seaton, Devon)
Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire - closed in October 2017, (rolling stock relocated to other preserved railways across the UK).
Elsecar Heritage Railway , South Yorkshire - closed 2020.
Finmere railway station , Buckinghamshire (stock relocated after the land was developed for HS2).
Great Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society , Starbeck, North Yorkshire – closed in 1989 (Group moved to Murton, near York, to restore part of the former Derwent Valley Light Railway )
Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway , Humberston, Lincolnshire – closed 1985 - Rebuilt 2009 in Skegness.
Markeaton Park Light Railway , Rowsley, Derbyshire - closed in 2016, track lifted in 2017.
Marwell Wildlife Railway, Hampshire - closed in 2021 and track lifted by end of 2022.
Museum of British Transport, Clapham , South London – closed in 1973. Some exhibits moved first to Syon Park, West London and subsequently to Covent Garden to form London Transport Museum . Some exhibits moved to N.R.M. York.
North Downs Steam Railway , Dartford, Kent – closed in 1995 (society merged with Spa Valley Railway)
North Woolwich Old Station Museum , East London – closed in 2008
Queen Mary's Hospital Miniature Railway , Carshalton, South London - Closed in 1997
Ramsgate Tunnel Railway , Ramsgate, Kent – closed in 1965
Snibston Railway , Coalville, Leicestershire – closed on 31 July 2015 (as with the Discovery Museum, itself)
Southport Pier Tramway , Southport, Merseyside - closed 2015
Southport Railway Museum , Southport, Lancashire – closed in 1999 (Society moved to Preston Docks as the Ribble Steam Railway ).
Stevington & Turvey Light Railway , Turvey, Bedfordshire – private site - closed in 2014.
Transperience , Low Moor, Bradford, Yorkshire – closed in 1997
Wells Harbour Railway , in Norfolk - closed in 2021
Westerham Valley Railway Association , Westerham, Kent – closed 1965 (merged with Kent and East Sussex Railway Preservation Society with a few items of stock transferred to KWVR.)
Northern Ireland
See List of heritage railways in Northern Ireland
Irish standard gauge
Railway centres and museums
Narrow gauge
Defunct
Scotland
Standard gauge
Central Highlands
East Coast of Scotland
Scottish Borders
Railway centres and museums
Narrow gauge
Craignure station on the 260 mm gauge Isle of Mull railway
Miniature railways
Tramways
Proposed
Defunct
Wales
North Wales
Mid Wales
South Wales
Proposed
North Wales
Standard gauge
Narrow gauge
South Wales
Standard gauge
Defunct
Butetown Historical Railway Society , Cardiff Bay – closed in 1997, moved to Barry Tourist Railway
Caerphilly Railway Society , Caerphilly Railway Works – closed 1996, moved to Gwili Railway
Gloddfa Ganol , Blaenau Ffestiniog - museum of narrow-gauge railways, closed in 1998, stock sold at auction
Swansea Vale Railway , Pentrechwyth – closed in 2009, (most of the track and rolling stock are now located on the Gwili Railway).
Penrhyn Quarry Railway , Bethesda, Gwynedd
Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway , Closed and replaced by Bala & Ffestiniog Railway Heritage Trust
Crown dependencies
Isle of Man
Derelict
See Rail transport in the Isle of Man .
Channel Islands
British Overseas Territories
Falkland Islands
See also
References
External links
Operational railways
Narrow-gauge Standard-gauge
Narrow gauge Standard gauge Centres and museums