Saturday 31st May 2025

Join us on what promises to be a fascinating day to County Durham as we utilise the 125 Group’s High Speed Train to visit the transformed ‘Locomotion’ railway museum – an incredible collection of almost 100 railway vehicles at Shildon – or elect to stay on the train for a variety of very special attractions on the 14 mile Weardale Railway, which winds through an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on its way to Stanhope.

Our specially chartered High Speed Train departs Kings Cross at around 07.45 before heading north on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – once the home of these iconic units but today a rare journey in itself. Our train calls at Potters Bar, Stevenage, St Neots and Peterborough before heading north through the farmlands of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. We skirt around the Minster City of York before a high speed sprint to Darlington.

The line to Shildon branches to the north west at Darlington and we traverse the single line to Heighington and onward to Shildon.

Locomotion – Railway Museum Shildon

Passengers alighting here can enjoy the recently transformed Shildon museum including the brand new 2,000 sq metre New Hall which examines the history of freight operations in the North East. Entrance to the museum is free, but passengers will have the option to pre-book onto one of our specially chartered trains that will work on the museum’s exhibition line. This option is available for just £5. The rostered locomotive will be announced prior to the tour running in May. We expect to have around four hours at Shildon.

The Weardale Railway

For passengers wishing to stay on the train, why not select our optional tour onto the stunning Weardale Railway?

Our High Speed Train will leave the national network at Bishop Auckland and make its way the 14 miles to Stanhope. From here passengers can transfer onto a specially arranged Weardale Railway service which will work back to Wolsingham. We expect this service to be hauled by Class 31 locomotives.

For those who enjoy traversing exceptionally rare track the opportunity will then exist to transfer to a Weardale Railway diesel multiple unit which will visit the depot complex at Wolsingham where a passenger train has not visited for many years. The line(s) visited will be determined based on operational circumstances on the day. All of this is included in the optional add on fare of £25! We will be at the Railway for about three hours in total.

Our Weardale Railway service will take us back from Wolsingham to Stanhope where our High Speed Train is reboarded. We then make our way to the East Coast Main Line for our return trip.

On our journey south we once again expect to avoid York station and thereafter we proceed south, but this time diverting towards the suburbs of Sheffield, Chesterfield, Toton and then the Midland Mainline to Syston Junction where we veer left towards Melton Mowbray and our first set down at Peterborough.

We are grateful to our Operating Company, Hanson & Hall and the 125 Group for facilitating the operation of this charter train.

All timings are provisional and intended only as a guide.

Station	Depart	Arrive
London Kings Cross	07.45	22.20
Potters Bar	08.10	22.00
Stevenage	08.30	21.40
St Neots	08.55	21.10
Peterborough	09.15	20.50

First Class Dining is not available on this train. A buffet car is available for those in Standard Class and First Class Non Dining. Supplements for off train options include local train rides as advertised. Please ensure you select your choice of off train option when you book.

Class	Price	Availability
Standard Class Adult	£99	Good
Standard Class Junior	£79	Good
First Class Non Dining	£179	Fully Booked
Supplementary Option - Shildon Exhibition Train	£5	Good
Supplementary Option - Weardale Railway including special train	£25	Good

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