Links

Note: For the most comprehensive list of Heritage Railways in the United Kingdom, you can do no better than to visit the UK Heritage Railways web site.

Historical Websites (UK)

• Blackrod Station - Past and Present Nice to see a station that nobody really noticed celebrated by someone who obviously did notice it.

• Brockwood Cemetery Railway Anything but dead boring!

• Disused stations A useful website that gives masses of information about many abandoned railway stations.

• Disused Stations on London's Underground

• Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age A fabulous website containing information about relics from the age of railways (Tunnels, viaducts, etc). Lots of other interesting stuff as well. Fascinating!

• Industrial Heritage of Britain All sorts of things about all sorts of industry

• Loco Shed Index and Loco Allocation List A list of all steam sheds AND allocations of thousands of locomotives. An incredible resource.

• Lost railways of West Yorkshire Fascinating and detailed. Well worth a visit by any enthusiast.

• Railscot Detailed and comprehensive information about the railways north of the border, old and new.

• Railway Ramblers People putting closed railways to a new and useful purpose.

• Railways Around Birmingham & the West Midlands A fabulous and well designed website dealing with this important part of the country

• RailWest Fascinating site giving information about railways in the southwest of England.

• The Old Dalby Test Track Dedicated to the piece of line upon which many modern, and not so modern, trains were put through their paces before entering service. Fascinating pictures and information about the Midland Pullman, the Advanced Passenger Train and the day that B.R. ploughed a class 46 into a nuclear flask.

• The Railway Archive A repository for documents relating to railways including maps and accident reports

• The Railway Centre A wealth of information, including news and a database of engine names

• The Somerset and Dorset Railway after closure Lots of pics and information in this well built site.

  ---

  Historical Websites (World)

• Chicago Tunnel Company Railroad

• Exploring ghost railway bridges near Paisley, Ontario Canada

• New Popular Edition Maps The Ordnance Survey maps of the 1940s all online. A hugely useful tool for any historian.

• New Adlestrop Railway Atlas A marvellous map that doesn't seem to get updated these days. Shame. It doesn't get much better than this.

• Old Maps A repository of old OS maps. A lot predate the railways, but they are fascinating not withstanding.

• Old OS Maps This amazing site allows you to view old OS maps, modern maps and satellite images and to then overlay them with variable transparency. The best way to locate old railways and features.

• Railway Clearing House pre-1923 Junction Diagrams Excellent collection of RCH maps dating from 1914, brought to you by the people who brought you Wikipedia.

  ---

  Revivalist Projects

• Don Valley Railway An attempt to reopen the Woodhead line from Deepcar to Sheffield.

• Helston Railway Preservation Society

• Keswick to Penrith Railway

• Poulton to Fleetwood

• Royal Deeside Railway A revivalist project for the railway that was stopped in its tracks by Queen Victoria.

• Waverley Railway Line Seems like this one is actually happening!

• Alderney Railway A standard gauge railway in the the Channel Islands.

• Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society

• Avon Valley Railway

• Barry Island Railway

• Beamish Open Air Museum Stunning! Allow yourself at least one full day to see everything. Don't miss the new 'Steam Elephant'

• Bluebell Railway

• Caledonian Railway

• Churnet Valley Railway Staffordshire offering which bills itself as "The Railway in the Valley"

• East Lancashire Railway Running between Bury Bolton Street and Rawtenstall, the ELR is the only preserved railway within Greater Manchester

• Elsecar Railway Small railway near Barnsley, seemingly not prioritising the provision of a working website. Should this change, perhaps someone could let me know?

• Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway

• Foxfield Railway Staffordshire

• Great Central Railway Loughborough, Leicestershire. Britain's only double track preserved railway

• Keighley and Worth Valley Railway One of the best

• Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway 3½ mile line which offers through fairs for Lake Windermere cruises and a three part ticket for the train, boat and the nearby sea life centre.

• Lavender Line East Sussex's best kept secret, apparently.

• Middleton Railway Leeds based railway with many claims to fame in railway history

• Midland Railway Center

• Peak Rail Matlock, Derbyshire. Originally intended as a project to reopen the entire Midland line from Buxton to Matlock, Peak Rail now concentrates on the southern end of the route, greater ambitions having seemingly - and sadly - been dashed. Unfortunately, and despite some improvements, their website remains visually appalling.

• South Devon Railway Running trains between Totnes and Buckfastleigh

• Strathspey Railway Running from Aviemore to Broomhill along the erstwhile Highland Railway route to Forres.

• West Summerset Railway A pleasingly neat and attractive web page for this railway.

  ---

  Narrow Gauge/Miniature Railways/Trams (UK)

• Alford Valley Railway 2' gauge

• The Amerton Railway 2' gauge on a farm in Staffordshire

• Bala Lake Railway 1' 11 5/8" gauge

• Belle Vue Steam Railway Information about the steam railway that once ran around the amusement park in Manchester. This was the only steam train that I travelled on when I was a child.

• Brecon Mountain Railway 1' 11¾" gauge

• Bressingham Steam Experience Standard, 2', 10¼" and 15" gauges

• The Cattle Country Railway 10¼" gauge

• Conwy Valley Railway Museum 7¼" and 15" gauge

• Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway 2' gauge

• Dragon Miniature Railway Wyevale Garden Centre, Marple, Cheshire

• Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway 10¼ and 7¼" gauges

• Exbury Gardens Railway 12¼" gauge

• Golden Valley Light Railway 2' gauge line based at the Midland Railway Centre

• Hilcote Valley Railway Based in Staffordshire, the gauge of this line is obviously a closely guarded secret as, at the time of writing, it is not mentioned on the web site

• Lappa Valley Steam Railway

• National Tramway Museum Derbyshire

• Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 15" gauge line in beautiful Cumbria

• Rhyl Miniature Railway 15" gauge running around a lake at a popular North Wales holiday resort

• Rudyard Lake Steam Railway 10¼" gauge. The only railway this size that I have seen offering driving courses!

• South Tynedale Railway 2½ mile 2' gauge line in Cumbria

• Steeple Grange Light Railway Built on a quarry branch from the Cromford & High Peak Railway, this is one of those odd railways that seems pointless, but is still very enjoyable for some reason.

• Teifi Valley Railway 2' gauge line running on a short portion of the erstwhile route from Pencader to Newcastle Emlyn. No website seems to be available at present.

• Vale of Rheidol Railway 1' 11¾" gauge. Was the last British Rail owned steam until until being sold.

• West Lancashire Light Railway 2ft gauge railway operating at Hesketh, Nr Preston

  ---

  Preserved Railways (World)

• Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway USA

• Illinois Railway Museum USA

• Jokioinen Museum Railway Finland

• Kentucky Railway Museum (USA) All 22 miles of it. Perhaps the only preserved railway in the world to offer the spectacle of train robberies as a part of the attractions!

• Museum Buurt Spoorweg (Holland)

• North West Railway Museum Washington, USA

• Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe The last scheduled steam passenger service operating in Southern Africa.

• Waitara Railway Preservation Society (New Zealand) Project in progress.

• Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway (USA) 2' gauge.

Locomotive and Rolling Stock Groups/Societies

• The AC Locomotive Group All things electric and AC.

• Altrincham Electric Railway Preservation Society A very active and long established society.

• The Brighton Circle All things regarding the London, Brighton and South Cost Railway.

• BR/Sulzer Type 2 Classes 24 and 25 and all things about them.

• Co-Bo World The website dedicated to the Metrovick Co-Bo locomotives

• Class 15 Preservation Society

• Class 25 in Action A website celebrating this fine breed of engine.

• The Class 37 Locomotive Group An interesting engine, much overshadowed by its more glamorous and slightly larger cousins during B.R. days.

• The Class 40 Preservation Society I once ploughed D200 into the side of a class 47 on Guide Bridge Holding Sidings. I wonder if they have forgiven me yet?

• The Class 47s One of my favourite engines to drive. Did exactly what it said on the tin!

• The Diesel and Electric Preservation Group

• The Deltic Preservation Society All things English Electric and triangular in shape.

• The Fifty Fund All things class 50

• Helston Railway Diesel Group Owners of a class 103 DMU, amongst other things.

• Industrial Locomotive Society. A society dedicated to the recording of information about those locomotives that arguably played as important a role in the development of the UK as their main line cousins. What would industry have done in the age of steam without these hidden heroes of the factory, colliery and quarry?

• Jubilees A website dedicated to this famous class of L.M.S. engine.

• Preserved Diesels What are they, where are they and what condition are they in?

• Suburban Electric Railway Association All things about EMUs, but without Rod Hull!

• The Woodhead Site All things to do with the Manchester, Sheffield and Wath line. Shame about the forum being so clunky and difficult to use. Worth visiting just to see the trains running at the bottom of the page!