Best Steam Driver Experience Day Course?

Hi All!
I've been looking at doing one of these courses for a while now, and have decided to do one for my eighteenth birthday (the minimum age for most of these courses) and was wondering if any of you had done one of these and could recommend one based on how much you do, value for money etc.
I live in Devon, but I'm willing to travel around if necessary. I have a little experience (about 15 minutes on the South Devon Railway - regulator, brake, changing direction, whistle, etc.) so I'm not completely clueless! What would you recommend?
Thanks!

Oliver.

 

I maybe biased, but Churnet Valley's Cauldon Experience takes some beating.

https://www.churnet-valley-railway.co.uk/train-driving

Might be more expensive than some, but 2x return trips to Ipstones and back means you get to work the loco on the 4.5 mile climb with ruling gradient of 1in45 - and 2017 should see 5197 be the regular loco for Ipstones workings too!

 

Most of us will be biased in some form or other either because we have a railway or we might volunteer somewhere. I will hold my hand up as a narrow gauge enthusiast and I think that these railways provide some of the better experiences especially the Talyllyn or WLLR as in these you are the only participant and you drive a loco with a full set of carriages at line speed the whole length of the railway. Again I am biased in my thinking that in doing so you are probably slightly more challenged in that you are driving a loco that is working more in keeping with the manner it was designed to do and not having to trundle with a loco at a max of 25mph when it is really designed to do more than that.

Having said that the Churnet top course looks quiet reasonable and I could be tempted myself because as a narrow gauge fireman I have never travelled on the footplate of a standard gauge loco except light engine between station limits and I have always wondered if my prejudices about footplate work on standard gauge preserved line actually have any basis. I have looked around at different options in the past as whilst I certainly don't know it all as a footplate volunteer, all be it on a narrow gauge railway, I don't really want to have to spend several hours first in a class room, before being let onto a footplate of a light engine with several others whilst you take it is turns to trundle around, and having done that you can then book for a course that involves coaches but again you rotate between firing, driving and sitting on the cushions.

I admit I may be a bit odd in this, but if there was a choice of a driving or firing course I would take the latter as I to be honest I much prefer firing to driving and whilst I am happy to take the regulator if it is to help my driver out I long ago reached the stage where I politely pointed out that I really had no interest in driving so I was perfectly happy not to be handed the regulator for part of a trip as would otherwise be the norm. I would also prefer to fire a small tank engine such as a pannier or small prairie or a 3 or 4 coach train than say take control of something like Tornado or the Flying Scotsman on a preserved line at 25moh

 

I have to say, I hadn't really considered the narrow gauge option before - you make some very good points as one to one training, where you are actively learning whilst doing, would definitely be preferable, and I can see where you're coming from with the operational and speed differences between the gauges. It's definitely given me another alley to explore! Thank you!

 

Even better suggestion. Become a volunteer and work your way up through the grades. Far more enjoyable and rewarding

 

That does not necessarily fit the lifestyle of many these days but it also presumes that they would want to be a footplate volunteer. There are plenty who volunteer in other departments or areas be it in operating departments, maintenance or manning stalls, fund raising etc. Last time I looked my father who assists a few days a year in the shop, marshalling, etc did not have the option of working through the grades doing that work which would see him be passed out as a fireman etc. Same with my mother who helps a bit with some gardening.

 

It's absolutely something I'd love to do, however, as you may have guessed from what I said earlier, I'm still in College, and working, leaving little time to realistically do this on a regular basis, though I am hoping to one day. I'm planning to volunteer for the Dartmoor Railway over the summer, but sadly their only steam engine has been out of service for quite a while, and the railway's operations are hardly extensive, mostly limited to weekends.

On the subject of narrow gauge experiences, I've had a look at the Lynton and Barnstaple line (My local narrow gauge line), and what they offer seems very interesting. It includes a full day of what seems to be one to one training on driving diesels, as well as driving and firing the steam locomotives and preparing/disposing of them at the beginning and end of the day. All for about £100 to £200 cheaper than on most standard gauge experiences; it's definitely a strong option!

 

It has been discussed before on the forum - for example here: https://www.national-preservation.com/threads/driver-experience-courses.34311/

Might be worth having a read through as there was a variety of views expressed in that thread.

I'd suggest thinking about:

- Do you want to drive an engine, or do you want to get a complete experience of driving, firing, being a guard etc?
- If driving is the main thing, do you want lots of experience in fine control (in which case choose a course with lots of starting / stopping etc) or do you want the feel of running a service (in which case choose a course pulling a realistic train the length of a decent sized line)?
- How physically fit are you? (firing especially is hard work; firing a complete 22 mile round trip on a hilly line such as the Bluebell with a heavy load is a reasonable physical challenge if you haven't done anything similar before).
- Is the actual engine you get on significant, or will any engine do?
- Are you taking any friends / parents / girlfriend / etc? If so, what is on offer for them?
- What other factors that might play a part; e.g. scenery, closeness to home, price etc.

Tom

 

Sadly I fear this comes into the "he would say this wouldn't he" category. There is at least one line offering such courses that makes the Bluebell look like the New York Central's "Water Level Route"

PH

 

Looking at the previous thread awakened my interest again and I have to admit the K&ESR course appeals to me, although in the wrong part of the country. A small loco pulling a couple of carriages and you get two complete round trips. one firing and one driving. I cannot see a cost.

I also note that more railways appear to be offering just footplate trips as opposed to driving/firing courses. I could see these being appealing to many who want to experience what it is like on the footplate but don't necessarily want to drive or fire.

 

I did a day on the Bala lake railway in November.

Excellent day, excellent value and thoroughly nice chaps.

The whole experience from lighting up to putting the loco to bed.

Chris

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! They've been very helpful.

Ah, thanks for linking that. I hadn't seen it and will definitely have a look. You make some good points too. Physical fitness shouldn't be a problem, and I'd ideally like to do as much driving as possible. With that in mind, the East Somerset Railway's course looks like another strong contender too. I'd be interested if anyone has done it before.
http://www.eastsomersetrailway.com/page.php?pid=125
This has definitely helped me to narrow down my options a bit. Thank you! I'm open to any other suggestions/recommendations anyone has!

 

I think that, like most people who actually drive, you'll find that firing is the more interesting and skillful. Driving can actually be quite boring, especially on a long run. You open the regulator and fiddle with it and the cut-of occasionally. Braking takes a bit more mastering but nothing like as challenging as keeping the pressure and water right without blowing off or black smoke. Drivers have the added responsibility of decision making but you will never have that on a footex course.

 

Yeah, that sounds like it would be the case. I suppose I should have said firing as well as driving earlier (which is what I meant!) as I'd ideally like to do both. Luckily it seems like you get to do equal amounts of each, more or less, on most courses. Thanks!

 

With the 2x trips to Ipstones on CVR, we do give you the option of driving both or firing one / driving the other. It's your day so you choose! Plus you get your breakfast and lunch, and if you bring family they can be added in for this too.

 

I learnt to drive steam first on Manxman which was steam turbine, then went over to reciprocating engines on this

http://www.ssfreshspring.co.uk/

That and a lot of time spent watching the engines on the Waverley

Then converted to a TY42 Kriegslok..............

No problems at all

Whatever you choose however I hope you enjoy your course and welcome to driving steam

 

Is there anywhere you can drive a Kriegslok these days still?

 

I did it at Wolsztyn

The TY42 - post war ones are great but the TY2 - WW2 built version gave me the creeps when I drove it later

 

What a pity there's never a cynic in the house when you need one...

You can do a course on the extra trains BR put on for the Cup Final?

 

As a guide to what you might get, here is a video of part of a Driving Experience on Tornado at the Nene Valley Railway



John