What a lovely place to visit, friendly staff, place spotless. Thank you - Great little trip and staff lovely (Mary Todd, Sale, Cheshire)
Driver Experience
Take control of one of our steam locomotives for yourself!
If you fancy having a go, then you have two options, a full day driving experience, or an evening experience. If you just fancy getting a driver's eye view then you can ask to ride on the engine footplate of any scheduled service.
Evening Experience - £65 Now booking for 2010
Your chance to have a go at driving our steam engine for a return trip or two at the end of the day. You'll join the driver and fireman for the 16:00 train on board our vintage Bagnall steam locomotive "Gelert". Then, when the passengers have gone home, it's you turn.
After a short introduction to how it works, you'll take Gelert up and down the line by itself (light engine), before returning to collect the carriage to do it again. The line is only three quarters of a mile long, but this means that you get to try main line running, and turning the train round in a short space of time.
Available on Saturday afternoons when we're running a steam service - have a look at the timetable to find out more. Please contact us for further details.
Course includes a year's free membership of the WHR Ltd.Full Day Driving Experience - £250
Learn to cook bacon to perfection on the coal shovel as you spend a day driving our steam engine, Gelert. You’ll get the railway to yourself for the day and individual instruction from our driver and fireman. An added bonus of this course is that it's a one to one experience; you won't be sharing the footplate with anyone else. The day starts with preparation of the locomotive. You'll learn how to build the fire (including the right and wrong way to crumple newspaper and add the wood on top). Once you've oiled round, and the steam pressure is up, you can try your hand at a few trips "light engine", without the carriages.
Then, in the afternoon, you'll couple up to the train and set off up the line, before running round for the return journey. Test your new driving skills by seeing if you can buffer up without hitting the coaches too hard!
Available on certain selected Mondays and Fridays in October.
Now booking for 2010
Course includes lunch in our tea room, full safety briefing and a year's free membership of the WHR Ltd. How to book
If you'd like to book either course or just want a bit more information please ring us on 01766 513402 or send us an e-mail by clicking here.Terms & Conditions
Sorry, you must be over 18 to drive our steam locomotives. Steam locomotives can be dirty and hot places, so you'll need to bring suitable clothing - we can give you more advice before the day. We'll do everything we can to help if any problems crop up, but we can't be held responsible for additional expenses (e.g. hotel bills) if we have to reschedule because of problems beyond our control (e.g. the steam locomotive breaks down).
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Evening Experience - £65 
Full Day Driving Experience - £250
