I posted this on another forum a while back, that a few here frequent but I think this one will provide a slightly different perspective. My wife is just starting to plan out our trip to England, likely still 1-1.5years off from now but she loves planning out vacations well ahead of going.

At any rate from my vantage point on this side of the pond England has always sounded like my version of Disney land with steam locomotives on every street corner, and in the odd case that you aren't with in a 5minute walk to the nearest preserved operating steam locomotive you are likely to stumble upon a neat traction engine, restored pumping house or something else steam to keep you excited. As if all of this wasn't great enough it all happens to be packed into a little island 8hrs long which by my standards isn't that bad of a drive especially if spread out over an entire vacation. Perhaps there is a little exaggeration here, but still the trouble becomes how does one prioritize their trip to England?

My wife though very sympathetic and tolerant towards historic machinery does not look forward to 2 weeks of non stop steam as I would enjoy. Can anyone recommend some must see destinations over there, as well as some dual purpose spots that will have stuff I will enjoy as well as her, kind of like the Cumbres and Toltec, and Durango and Silverton were enjoyed by both of us. By the way it doesn't necessarily have to be all railroads as far as I am concerned, pumping stations, steam traction, model engineering are all fine for me too!

Thanks for the help,

Adam

The Llangollen Railway in Wales combines scenery and a nice train ride, very much like Strasburg. There is much to do in the town of Llangollen. See if you can get a boat ride on the Llangollen Canal across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Blackpool has a great amusement park and seaside trolley (tram) ride.

A boat ride on Paddle Steamer Waverly on the Clyde River in Scotland is a real time machine.

Get reservations for the late night Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of England. The guards perform a 1000 year old ritual to lock the Tower each evening after dark. You must write for reservations well in advance.

Have fun!

Wesley

Adam:
I would definitely go to York and see the National Transportation Museum. You can see all kinds of great railroading; and your wife will love shopping in York ! York Minster too.
Be sure and buy a rail pass and ride the trains ! Take extra US dollars along to exchange at the banks over there, the exchange rate is better. We were mainly in Scotland, and you haven't lived until you have crossed the Firth of Fourth bridge on a train ! The River Tay bridge is a must do as well.
The scenery is Scotland is beautiful ! There were lots of Signal boxes when I was there in the late 1990's. And the Trainsheds are something in themselves. I was NOT a fan of foreign RR's before, but I am now.
Go to one of the Brits's RR web sites like the (Home Signal) and start researching . It's cheaper to rent a cottage versis a hotel, and the small town Baker's shop is a good place for light and inexpensive lunches like meat pies. Pubs good too, resturants can be very expensive, and not always good.

Good luck !

Kevin K.

Adam:
I got that web site wrong: The Signal Box is what you wantK

My recommendations would include the National Railway Museum in York and the National Tramway Museum in Crich. The London Transport Museum isn't bad either. London is of course chock full of other museums of international importance, so you should make time for one or two of them at least.

Another recommendation away from the rails, in Plymouth I found the salvaged warship Mary Rose and the process of its preservation fascinating.

If the Jacobite is running you don't want to miss that trip. The Settle and Carlisle and Keighley and Worth Valley are time machines. Wales is the British version of Colorado but not as rough or tall, and with better pub grub more frequently offered, and the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway make for a lot of narrow gage steaming (and interchange with the national passenger system) on a 3 day bracket with other great scenic attractions. Hay On Wye is a Welsh border town that is almost entirely composed of used book stores - depending on your literacy affinity, you could send any amount of time there. It's also very scenically medieval. Not on a railway, so your wife gets a break, you take a bus in, and slend your time looking for old railroad books.

The Lake District is not railroady but gorgeous. Birmingham has a great railroad museum but sucks as a place to visit otherwise - ride the train in, visit the museum, and get out by nightfall. I suppose it is the British equivalent of downtown Detroit.

You will have a great time unless you choose to do otherwise.

dave

The Cathedrals Express is a very nice day trip with a lot for him & her. Don't plan not to enjoy the cathedrals yourself - anyone mechanically oriented cannot help but be impressed.

http://www.steamdreams.co.uk/executables/GT410WebContent.exe?SS=SDSVR01SQLExpress&DB=SteamDreams&Division=A&ActionCode=HP

The Bluebell RR does an excellent dinner train or just do afternoon tea (full afternoon tea service is a must in the UK) - Orient Express quality on a budget price. It is a nice ride out to Sussex from London and you can show up early and look at all their stuff.

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/

I would agree you should go to York. You will need at least a few hours there, but then walk downtown and see the Cathedral. The excavation of the basement and shoring of the tower (you can go down and see) should be very impressive to you and she should like the cathedral. There are old London buses that make a loop of town, you should both enjoy, too.

The Kew Bridge steam museum is very neat (runs most weekends) as is the London Transport Museum - but these are mostly venues for him. It is not out of your time budget to do a short Eurostar trip to Paris - see the tourist stuff and have dinner on one of the boats on the Seine - very romantic.

If not Paris, check out going to Newquay - kind of like English Santa Cruz. Get off the GW in Bodmin and ride the steam train up to town. Very cute places, but plan to walk a lot.

Study the London Underground (tube) and Paris Metro (if you go) before you go as with a good familiarity of them you can cover a lot of ground with little effort. You will see plenty of town when you pop-up. Sloan Square area and down the Kings Road is a nice walk.

Beyond that, I would suggest keeping track of what the mainline excursions are doing - often there are multiple excursions every weekend - I have been fortunate enough to be standing on top of a parking garage and watched two within an hour. In the UK and Switzerland, sometimes you can get off your train, wait for the next one, and see a steam excursion in between! Often you can also find one going where you want to go or part of the way.

Please be aware that some of my data may be out of date as it is a 30 year accumulation of experience and by no way represents all the opportunities.

If you go to see the museum in York, you're not too far from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Lots of steam there and loads of great scenery. In the summer, they also run steam over the main line to the seaside, so that could be fun too. My father is a signalman there at Newbridge, so perhaps I'm biased?

Almost forgot....Swindon. I don't know if it is still operating, but there was a huge Steamtown-like museum there when I last visited several years ago. I think I was one of maybe 4 visitirs in the place that day.....on the other side of the fence dividing the old locomotive works in two there was a shopping mall, so it was heaven on one side, hell on the other. Definitely worh a visit if it is still open.

dave

Hi Adam, apart from the many preserved railways there are numerous mainline excursions throughout the year with a variety of starting points. I would reccomend this website as a good source of information:-

http://www.uksteam.info/index.htm

Here is the present list for 2013 which will probably change during the year:-

http://www.uksteam.info/tours/trs13.htm

These are the main UK operators :-

http://www.railwaytouring.net/uk_day_trips

http://www.steamdreams.co.uk/Executable ... SS=SDSVR01\SQLExpress&DB=SteamDreams&Division=A

http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/

http://www.vintagetrains.co.uk/


I hope these links are of some use and I will post a few more over the next couple of days.

Neil.

Excellent advice above, but nobody has mentioned the Welsh narrow gauge railways of which there are many. The Ffestiniog is of considerable historic significance to those of us in the US.

The Welsh Connection, The Ffestiniog Railway, Robert Fairlie and the origins of narrow gauge railroading in America

Welsh Highland Railway, The newest and longest narrow gauge in Wales

The Talyllyn Railway, The world's first "preserved railway"

A Welsh Narrow Gauge with a Difference, The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway is a country line

The hell we didn't. Try reading first.....

dave

Don't forget Severn Valley. Absolutely go to York. Check with Bill S. about some other ideas next time you see him.

Howard P.

You might want to consider visiting the Isle of Man. It is a self-governing British Crown dependency located in the middle of the Irish Sea. It has a variety of trains and other things to do.

The Heritage railroads include steam, trams and a cog railway (electric trams). A separate horse drawn tramway operates in Douglas. Equipment is over 100 years old.

some links:
http://www.gov.im/publictransport/Rail/
http://www.visitisleofman.com/

I was about to chime in on the Isle of Man, but Brian beat me to it. About 20 years ago my wife and I visited the Isle. We rode over on the ferry from Heysham, but there is also airline service, and as I recall, the steam train stops near the airport. Since 1993 was the Centennial of the Manx Electric Railway, they had special events, such as a steam locomotive running on the electric line, with tram trailers for passengers. By prior arrangement, I joined a "visiting motorman's class" and ran Car 5 on part of the line north of Laxey. Had to stop at one point and sound the whistle to encourage a band of sheep to graze somewhere other than the "permanent way". Note that the Manx railways are 3-foot gauge, except for the Snaefell Mountain electric line, which is 3.5 feet (Like Los Angeles Ry. and San Francisco cable cars).

Another relic of Victorian electric technology is Volk's Electric Railway on the coast at Brighton. It's only a mile and a fraction long, but it was built in 1883!

Add my vote to the museum in York--there's something for everyone, including the last steam locomotive built in England for regular service: the poetically named Evening Star. For pre-railway-era studies, the York Minster is a must. If you go down to the undercroft for a look at the modern underpinnings, check out the Roman-era water conduit--built over 1700 years ago and still carrying water!

When we stayed overnight at Carlisle, I visited the Border Regiments military museum. One display case had items from the 1770-85 period, with a label listing the regiments who were "sent to North America to deal with rebellious colonists". Hey! That's US!

The only problem with most visits to England is that they're not long enough.
Cheerio!