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Special Trains 2010
You can book tickets for all your train travel over the internet. Click the link to take you to a secure booking site.
If you prefer you can book by post for some of our services but you will need Adobe Acrobat to be able download a booking form. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat you can download it free of charge by following the link. 
The Special Trains Section is split into three parts.
Some of the events we run are organised to cater specifically for our younger visitors.
Other events are specifically aimed at the whole family.
We also organise events which are of more interest to the railway enthusiast.
However these descriptions are not exclusive and you may find something to interest you in more than one section. To get more details of these events please follow the links.
For the Younger Visitors
Days Out with Thomas
Come and visit the centre on the days when Thomas the Tank is there with all his friends including Sir Topham Hat. Thomas will be at the Centre on the following dates:-
March 6th and 7th
May 29th to June 2nd
August 4th to 8th
December 27th to 31st
Days Out with Thomas - Special Tea Trains
There will be a special tea train hauled by Thomas on
March 6th
June 2nd
August 7th
December 30th
These trains must be booked in advance.
All Aboard With Ivor
Ivor the engine will be visiting from the Merioneth and Llantisili Railway for the weekend and will be helping to run trains over this very special weekend.
April 24th and 25th
Postman Pat Weekend
Come along and meet Postman Pat and his cat. Postman Pat will be making sure that the our trains are carrying the post from Greendale.
He will be making appearances throughout the weekend.
July 17th and 18th
Visit of Paddington Bear
Paddington will be appearing at the Midland Railway Butterley this weekend which will include all of the Trust's normal activities as well as additional children's entertainment.
Paddington is now famous for both marmalade and marmite sandwiches! So over this weekend we will be staging a Sandwich celebration, with a full range of usual and not so usual sandwiches on offer.
August 14th and 15th
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Link to Official Paddington Web Site |
Wizards & Spooks Week
Half Term Ghostly trains for Halloween.
October 23rd to 31st
Santa Specials
During the Christmas period we run Santa Specials for all the younger members of the family. Santa's grotto is on the train and the children will meet Santa during the train ride. There is a quality gift for every child. Every adult will receive a mince pie and a miniature bottle of spirits. The Pinxton puppets put on a show in a heated marquee.
Booking is strongly advised.
The Santa Specials will run on the following dates:-
November 20th and 21st
November 27th and 28th
December 4th and 5th
December 9th
December 11th and 12th
December 16th
December 18th to 19th
December 22nd to 24th
For the Whole Family
Summer Holidays
We run trains on everyday throughout the school summer holidays from July 24th to September 5th.
Vintage Trains
We have some vintage rolling stock which dates back well into the 19th century. We run this stock to demonstrate how it used to be to sit in some of the earliest railway carriages:-
May 1st to 3rd
August 20th to 22nd
1960s Weekend
Experience the sights and sounds of the 1960s over this special weekend when the railway will be recreating the era which saw the end of steam and the rise of the diesels.
Visiting steam locomotive, Ex GWR 5643 will be hauling trains with a selection of the railway's home fleet locomotives over the weekend.
An intensive timetable will operate which will include passenger trains, a demonstration goods train, a Diesel Multiple Unit shuttle and more!
Further information will be available soon. Pictures from the 2009 event can be seen by following the link.
May 8th to 9th.
Indie Tracks Weekend
Trains and Music. Visit the Indie Tracks Web Site for more details
23rd to 25th July
Midland Railway - Butterley Heritage Open Weekend
A special weekend re-creating the Works Open Days that were popular in the 1950s.
There will be a wide range of steam and diesel traction operating to an intensive timetable.
August 28th to 30th
Doctor Who Convention
Following on from the success of last year's Whooverville, the Whoovers and Midland Railway Butterley are proud to present the cleverly titled Whooverville 2.
This is a one-day convention taking place on Sunday 5th September 2010.
It will begin at 10 a.m. at Butterley station where the 10.30 train will transport guests to the convention site at Swanwick where guest panels, autograph sessions, dealer's room and catering will be located. The event will run to 5 p.m. when a train will ferry guests back to the Butterley site.
Celebrities from the worlds of both classic and new Doctor Who have been invited. The current guest list now includes: KATY MANNING (companion - Jo Grant), SOPHIE ALDRED (companion - Ace), DEBORAH WATLING (companion - Victoria), DEE SADLER (guest artiste - Flowerchild), SEAN SAYE (Dalek Operator - Victory of the Daleks), JOHN WALKER (Supporting artist - Doctor Who, Torchwood, Survivors), TRISTAN PEATFIELD (Production Designer - Amy's Choice, The Pandorica Opens and others) and PAUL JOHNSON (Doctor Who anime artist and animator).
As always, please note that all announced guests will be appearing subject to their work commitments and the organisers cannot accept responsibility for cancellations due to this.
Tickets for the event are as follows: Adults - £25; Children (5-15 years) - £10; Children (under 5) - free; Family Ticket (2 adults/2 children max) - £60
Tickets are available direct via the link below. All the facilities of the railway will be available to all attendees including unlimited travel on our trains and the many displays and exhibitions located at the Swanwick site.
Please note: This event is being organised by fans of the television series Doctor Who and is not afiliated to the BBC or any of their licensees or agents.
For further information on the Whoovers, visit their website via the link below where there is also a report on last year's event that will give a taster of what to expect.
To see a poster with more details, click on the following link.
You can book online here
September 5th
Halloween Fright Night
Travel by special steam train starting at 5.30pm to the Ghostly station.
Dare you ride the Spooky train through the haunted Country Park?
Visit the site's many other attractions and see them in a new light!
Enter the Trick or Treat Trail.
Have a drink and recover in the Real Ale bar serving a range of potions.
Or treat yourself from our Vampire menu.
Adults £9.00 including narrow gauge spooky rides.
Children FREE
October 30th
Fireworks Evening
We have a special fireworks evening on Saturday 7th November. A shuttle train will run between 5.30 p.m. to 7.15 p.m. from Butterley to Swanwick where you can get a grandstand view of our magnificent firework display.
A return service will be available after the end of the display.
The GVLR narrow gauge (extra charge) will run trains at Swanwick.
Other attractions at Swanwick will be open
The cost will be £9.00 for adults with children FREE
November 6th
Yuletider Trains
There are lunchtime Wine and Dine services that will be running on the following Sundays from Butterley station:
November 28th
December 5th
December 12th
December 19th
New Year Trains
Into the new year trains will run from the 1st to the 3rd January and most weekends in January and February as well as over the February half term week.
Lunch on the Train
Our Mid-day Midlander Sunday Lunch Services will run on:
January 24th
February 21st
March 14th (Mothering Sunday)
April 18th
May 16th
June 20th (Fathers' Day)
July 18th
September 19th
October 17th
23rd January 2011
20th February 2011
For more details and a booking form follow the link below
Other Special Weekends
During the summer we have other themed days and weekends. Examples are:
Disabled Weekend - Free for registered disabled, half price for helper on June 12th and 13th. (Supported by Ripley Rotary).
Half price for the over 60s Week from 26th to 30th July
For the Enthusiast
Footplate Experience Days
Passenger Trains with Steam Engines
April 23rd
May 7th
June 18th, 25th June
July 2nd, 16th,
September 10th, 24th
October 8th, 15th
Passenger Trains with Diesel Engine
May 21st
June 11th
For more details of the 'main line' footplate days and a booking form follow the link below
Steam Footplate Experience on the GVLR using 'Joan'
For more details and a booking form follow the link below
Diesel Event
We run special weekends which feature many resident and visiting diesel locomotives in an intensive timetable with a variety of locomotives pulling the trains. Diesel events are planned for:-
May 22nd and 23rd
Our annual Spring Diesel Event will feature two guest locomotives; Class 31 - 31206 and Class 14 - 14901; as well as a selection of our home fleet locomotives.
An intensive timetable will operate over the weekend. More information is available by following the link.
October 2nd and 3rd
More information will be available soon.
Shunters Event
A new event for 2010! This event will see visiting locomotive Class 14 - 14901 hauling trains with some of the railway's other diesel shunting locomotives, which should include Class 08 - 08590 and Class 11 - 12077.
More information will be available soon.
June 26th and 27th
Narrow Gauge and Garden Railway Weekend
This special weekend for those who prefer their locomotives to be of an 'easier to carry' size.
July 10th and 11th
Road Transport Rally
Swanwick site will be the scene of a gathering of all forms of road transport. Make sure that you do not miss this exciting event.
July 11th
DMU Event
A DMU weekend for all those who miss the local trains of the 60s and 70s.
September 11th and 12th
Steam Event
This event will feature the line's home fleet of steam locomotives hauling trains as well as a possible guest locomotive. An intensive timetable will operate, featuring passenger trains, demonstration goods trains and more!
More information will be available soon.
October 9th and 10th
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