Please note change to train times during December and until further notice
TUNNEL OF LIGHTS FROM DECEMBER 02 TO JANUARY 07
We will run pop-up trains most Sundays until Easter 2024, subject to sufficient volunteers and the weather.
First train approx 1100 then every few minutes until last train around 1500
Locos – steam, diesel or electric depending on availability
Please note that service may be cancelled, disrupted or abandoned depending on the weather.
Fares A 1,50, C 1,00.
Day tickets (not transferable) £5A and £4C
Contactless is available.
NB small children must be accompanied by an adult
School holiday pop-ups
These have finished for the summer..
LOST PROPERTY
Found 6th Aug
Contact us to retrieve.
Found Easter Monday.
Contact us to retrieve.
Special Days coming up…
2024 programme includes special days for EACH, Friends of Eaton Park and the Civic Charity. Others tba.
This is in addition to our fundraising for four local schools, and the EAAA
From October 2023 to Easter 2024 we will run pop-up trains on most Sundays.
We will be running pop-up trains on most Sundays from around 1130 to approx 1530 until Easter 2024. Please scroll down for further info. Regular postings will also be made on the Eaton Park Miniature Railway facebook page.
There may be pop-ups at other times so look out for these
Would you like to come and help us operate, maintain and improve the railway in the park? If so, consider joining the owning organisation, NDSME. More details here
Further Information
Contactless payments available when buying tickets, cash or card – your choice!
If you are infected with Covid, please do not ride the railway.
Standard single fares are £1,00 C <16 and £1,50 A. Day pass £4.00 C <16 and £5.00 A. Please note that day passes are not transferable and are not sold in the final hour of operations
We will do our best to run as advertised but please note that during foul weather service may be cancelled, suspended or, as a last resort, abandoned. Please also remember that we are all unpaid volunteers running trains in our spare time. We enjoy doing this as much as you enjoy riding! We will endeavour to run services at the times above, but they may vary.
We will include accessible carriage. No7, in our Mainline trains on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays wherever possible. This carriage can convey wheelchair users, accompanied prams/pushchairs, guide dogs, other accompanied dogs (at staff discretion) and also people who are unable to ride on our existing “sit astride” carriages. It is not suitable for “mobility scooters”. Please note that the Heritage Track is unable to accommodate the previously mentioned passengers.
Child fares for 2023 are unchanged (since 2006!) at £1 for the Mainline. Adult tickets are just 1,50. The former ticketless system changed in 2017 and heritage or souvenir tickets are issued. Please obtain these from the booking office/desk and retain for inspection on the train or at the station entrance. You may wish to keep these for scrapbooks or journals or for possible promotions later in the season. A used ticket bin is provided at the exit if you wish to dispose of your ticket thoughtfully. NB Please note that, at present, individual tickets are neither issued nor clipped. A receipt wiil instead be given for total fares paid. Please also note that 2-trip tickets are not available at present.
As with any railway, all tickets are issued subject to conditions. A copy of the Conditions of Carriage may be found here
We will be running special charity days, on selected Saturdays or Bank Hol Mondays in 2024.
These will be announced in the New Year.
Our regular donations to local schools and EAAA continue.
From October 2023 to Easter 2024 we will run pop-up trains on most Sundays.
Photography at Eaton Park Min. Rly.
The Company, and its nominated associates or agents reserve the right to take photographs or video footage of the trains in operations with or without passengers, for the purposes of publicity, media articles related to the operation of the Railway or any other reason that the Society determines. The railway is regarded as wholly in the public domain for photographic purposes. By travelling on our trains you acknowledge this. If you do not wish to feature in any photographs then please do not purchase a ticket. If you have special requirements then please let us know.
Our Railways
The Mainline (below) is the dual gauge (definition: “gauge” is the distance between the rails) ground level track that opened in 2006. Most of the trains you will see will be of the larger 7.25″ gauge. This line is around 800m long and you will see much evidence of improvements since it was first opened.
This is the Mainline…
The Heritage Track (below) is the raised level 5″ gauge track, parts of which date back to the 1960s. This was the only track until the Mainline opened in 2006. Originally opened as a circular line, it was extended to it’s present form in the late 1970s. This line is currently closed for refurbishment.
Pop-up train days
What’s a pop-up? A pop-up is not a part of the formal advertised season but, as its name implies, pops up at short notice subject to us having enough volunteers to operate safely, and also subject to the weather! Typically these may happen on Fridays in the Easter and summer school holidays from the pop-up station near the wild flower beds or on Sundays outside the formal season, for example during October to Easter, and these latter will operate from Parkside station. Steam may or may not feature.
Keep an eye on the Facebook pages of Friends of Eaton Park or Eaton Park Miniature Railway where pop-up days will be announced if they occur
Parties and Group Visits
We welcome visits from organised groups or societies, and will do our best to accommodate you wherever possible. Please make contact in good time by email to EPMRinfo@ndsme.org. Visits from other societies are best organised for a Saturday,
If you are holding a birthday party in the park on a Sunday afternoon when we are running public services and would like to include rides on our trains as part of your celebrations, please contact us well in advance by email. We will do our best to assist you wherever possible. Please note we may be able to offer chartering a train for a large party,
Christmas Arrangements
Following the popularity of the Tunnel of Lights trains in 2021 and 2022, we will repeat these in December 2023
Join us!
We are always seeking railway minded enthusiasts to help us run the popular railway in the park. You don’t require any specific skills, just a willingness to learn and an eagerness to take part. Jobs you could do include ticket inspection, platform attendant/dispatcher and, after training, guard and, later, driver. There are minimum age requirements for drivers and guards. Enquire at the booking office on any train running day for further info. We are also seeking people who might like to assist our grounds maintenance team ie Richard the Gardener. If you’d like to get outdoors and do some good in the park, come and talk to us...