RUDYARD LAKE STEAM RAILWAY 

Drive a steam train on a Steam Engine Driver Experience Course

Learn to drive a steam railway engine on a magical steam train trip

The experience

Learn how to drive a real steam train. You will drive and fire a steam coal fired railway locomotive pulling a private train.  You and/or a friend or partner can fulfil this dream. Your family or friends are also welcome to come along for the fun.

Our courses are normally a full day and for a maximum of two participants (although one person is normal) and are an ideal gift or birthday present. The course will start with a safety briefing to ensure that you understand the basics of the safe operation of the railway and steam locomotives. Then it will be your turn to help prepare the engine for the days work which means cleaning it, oiling round and raising steam. This is where you will learn how some of the theory works in practice and how the various parts of the engine work. You do not need to know how a steam engine works before starting the course. Our trains are real coal fired half sized narrow gauge steam engines. This means we concentrate on learning new skills and having fun rather than on physical endeavour.

The participants on previous courses have praised the quality of the instruction and personal tailoring to match their specific needs. The one to one approach means that we can offer a high quality experience that is fun and interesting. Some have enjoyed it so much that they have become volunteers so they can repeat the experience.

Once steam is raised on the engine we will couple up the engine to a train and start the most exciting part of the day. On the first trip you will be asked to fire the engine to keep up the steam pressure and to learn the layout of the railway. If there are two participants you will take it in turns with the person not on the engine learning the job of guard before swapping roles for the next trip. After you have acted as fireman its time to swap sides of the cab and take the regulator and drive the train on the three mile return trip.

On the full day course you will have normally have four trips on the footplate. A packed lunch can be brought as local catering facilities are not always available. Complimentary hot drinks will be available. You are encouraged to bring your camera as there are plenty of photo opportunities. The general public cannot travel on these trains for safety reasons but arrangements are always made for family members to travel free on all our courses. A shorter half day course can be booked if time is limited with two return trips. The aim of the day is to enjoy yourselves and the course will be tailored to the pace you are comfortable with.

A gift voucher valid for 9 months is always provided so if you want to buy the course for someone as a present you can give it to them. Please let us know when booking who its for although we always send all information direct to the purchaser. We can fix a specific date when booking or leave it for the recipient to arrange it to suite themselves. There is no upper age limit but we have a minimum age limit of 12 for anyone taking the course.

The railway has 4 steam engines suitable for use on these courses and if you have a particular locomotive or other request we will try to accommodate it. We were pleased to assist a couple recently where the lady proposed as part of the course. He said YES!!  If you do have some special requirements please get in touch and we will see what can be done.

As a new initiative for 2009/10 we have a limited number of 2 day courses provided jointly with the Fairbourne Railway in Wales. One day will be spent on each railway giving a varied experience of two of Britain's Great Little Railways. Cost would be £300 for the two days.

No. 7 Merlin in the snow

Group Experiences

We ran some very successful group courses for up to 6 people in 2008 & 2009 using two trains. Please contact us to discuss the options.

Some Comments from past participants:

'a superb day',  ' we learned much more that we would have on a full size engine'

'Richard is an excellent teacher and extremely patient',  

'We had a super day'        'great fun'    

'Thank you for that wonderful time that my husband and I had '

'our instructor had been extremely helpful and friendly throughout'

'The railway is wonderful and I had a fantastic time'  'I will certainly be back'

'We had a great day on Saturday' ' I have no hesitation in recommending it'

Participants have come from all corners of the UK and even 2 from Thailand.

 2009/10 Dates

These are available midweek throughout the year. There are limited dates also available at weekends during the winter. Please ring Peter to check for any specific dates on 07824 34077

Pendragon No. 9 is one of the engines used on driver courses

Costs (from 1st December 2008) Prices will rise after 1st January 2010 due to VAT increase so book now to beat the price rise- vouchers are valid for 9 months.

A full day course for one person costs £190 inclusive of VAT.

A half day course for one person costs £135 inclusive of VAT.

A full day course for two people costs   £130 each inclusive of VAT   ( i.e.  £260 for 2 people)

A special course can easily be tailor made for a larger group or as a corporate event and these have been well received. Please contact us to discuss the possibilities.

HOW TO BOOK

Ring  Peter Moore on 07824 340777

or

email us at mike@rlsr.org 

or

Print the application form available on this link       Then click on Back at the top of your screen to return to this page. Then complete the form and post it to us at the address shown on the form.      

We always send the details , gift voucher etc to the person who books the course.      

HOW TO GET THERE

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway runs half size narrow gauge steam trains and is located 2 miles North of the town of Leek in the Staffordshire Peak District -near the Cheshire - Derbyshire border. Its easy to get to from the Midlands, North West and Manchester. To get there head for Leek or Macclesfield and then take the A523 until you are a mile North of Leek. Look out for the brown direction signs and turn onto the B5331 for half a mile to the free car park at Rudyard Station.