We organise visits to narrow gauge and miniature railways throughout the year for the benefit of Members. These are mostly private visits, by special arrangement with the owners or operators of the railway.
We often get to see behind the scenes of the railway, such as the sheds and the workshops – areas normally off-limits to the general public. For this reason, we restrict our visits to Members only. If you are not a member and would like to come along on one of our visits, please join the Society first before you book, see our Membership page.
Travellers on the western side of the M25 will probably have noticed the Great Cockrow Railway, which sits alongside the motorway near Chertsey.
The Great Cockrow Railway provides group visits for clubs and societies, and we have arranged such a visit for Sunday 14th June. This will comprise tours of the engine shed, workshop and signal box, followed by a private train ride around the railway, before it opens to the public for the day.
Please note that, if you wish to take part in additional rides after our "private" ride, these are payable on the day.
Cost: £12
Start Time: To be confirmed, but likely to be around 1100/1130.
Crowle Peatland Railway is home to a fascinating collection of narrow-gauge locomotives and vehicles that once played a vital role in transporting peat from the moors to the processing mills. Highlights include a restored Simplex locomotive, and the powerful diesel-hydraulic Schöma engines introduced in the 1990s to modernise peat haulage. The collection also features a Wagonmaster locomotive, formerly used on the Bord na Móna peat railways in Ireland, a Wickham Trolley originally built for the 3ft gauge Lochaber Railway in Scotland and a former Lisbon tram.
During the course of the visit, they hope to be able to run trains for us using Schoma, Simplex and Wickham. Refreshments will be available at the railway’s café.
Home Page - Crowle Peatland Railway
Cost: £13
North Ings is a small museum, specialising in agricultural equipment, near to Sleaford in Lincolnshire. They have a 2 foot gauge railway, running for 600 yards, with a selection of industrial diesel locomotives. They are going to be running specially for us on this day, and are hoping to have at least 4 locomotives working for us on the day.
Cost: £13
SOLD OUT
Some members took part in a visit to Barn Well Hill on a very wet day in 2023. Since then, the railway has been extended, and longer rides can now be enjoyed.
The visit has now been confirmed for Sunday 5th July.
The morning session at 1100 is sold out; a few places remain for the afternoon session at 1300.
Cost: £10 per head
Maximum 30 people.
Exbury Steam Railway is a 1.5 mile line, with 12.25 inch gauge. It runs within Exbury Gardens in the New Forest, Hampshire.
We have arranged a group visit, which comprises access to the Garden, a single ride on the train, and a guided tour of the engine shed.
Steam railway | Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway
COST: £17 per person
Members who have registered their email address in Membermojo and wish to join us on a visit are able to book on line through our Membermojo Store which will take you straight to the Store Visits page, Alongside "Store Purchase", click on "Visit Store". In the Store, you will find a list of all Society Visits which are available for Online Booking.
In order to book a place on a visit, click the “Quantity” box for the specific visit, select the number of places that you would like to book, and then click on checkout. You can pay by debit or credit card. On receipt of your booking and payment, you will receive an automated email acknowledgement.
If you are booking for more people than just yourself, you will be asked to contact the relevant Visits Officer, providing the names, addresses and membership numbers (if known) in your party.
Once you have booked your visit(s), the relevant Visits Officer will contact you shortly before the visit with further details (including times, directions, meeting points).
To clarify the conditions for members and others making visits to railway sites or our library, you are advised to read our Visits Policy thoroughly. This is also available from the Downloads page.
There may be some visits where non-members or the general public may be present, the visits form will clarify if you can be accompanied by non-members
An application to become a Visits & e-NGN Member or to add an Associate to your membership can be made via this website's Membership page
DISCLAIMER : We make every effort to ensure all the details on our web site are correct and up to date. However we take no responsibility for loss due to inaccuracies on these pages.