Cheapest / Best value driver experiences

[cakefiend]

Driver experience days go for incredible sums these days. As an example, a diesel driving experience at the Severn Valley costs £625 for 8 miles at the controls. To give a very unfair breakdown, that’s £78.12 per mile!!

Obviously these costs cover a lot, like fuel, insurance, lost revenue from public trains that could run, etc.

But this has got me wondering, what’s the lowest priced experiences out there?

 

[Jan Mayen]

Amberley Museum. Drive the loco Roger Moore drove in A View To A Kill. £5 donation, please.

 

[Trainlog]

Drivers' experiences are still expensive, understanbly so if they are running an empty train for this experience.

However, it has never been better for the value for money of locomotive footplate rides. A lot of lines are doing round trips from £99-125 which is as much as some long distance railtour tickets.

Some examples of lines offering affordable footplate rides

• Romney Hythe and Dymchurch
• Chinnor and Princes Risborough
• Isle of Wight steam railway
• Swanage railway
• (honourable mention) The Severn valley railway is doing a £20 Bridgnorth Pannier tank event, its only a mile but you get to sound the whistle too.

Even the Bluebell, which used to be expensive such as the £500 Camelot loco ride started doing £110 round trips.

 

[Barclay]

You can drive an 08 for a tenner at the East Somerset Railway this weekend.

 

[blackfive460]

Fairbourne used to be reasonably priced but I can't seem to get to their website at present.

 

[Iskra]

I found that the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway have a driver experience which can be found online for under £300 and this includes driving both a diesel railcar and a diesel locomotive. I thought that was excellent value, so it fell into my shopping basket...

 

[Sun Chariot]

You can drive an 08 for a tenner at the East Somerset Railway this weekend.

If I lived closer, I'd jump at that. Gronks are a happy memory of my 1980s: every single nook and cranny had 'em clanking and burbling away. Tough little blighters, too.

 

[Zomboid]

The one I did was pretty much what is now the "silver" steam experience at the Great Central. Not exactly a bargain at £995 for 16 miles (£62/ mile), and I don't think I paid that much (it was 2018), but I went with my brother so we had 2 round trips to ourselves and it certainly felt like decent value as these things go.

 

[Gwr12345]

Wensleydale railway offers 20 miles for £500 for a loco (14,33,37,47) or £300 for a dmu (pacer or bubble car) which is relatively good value compared to other railways-roughly £25 a mile

 

[158760]

Drivers' experiences are still expensive, understanbly so if they are running an empty train for this experience.

However, it has never been better for the value for money of locomotive footplate rides. A lot of lines are doing round trips from £99-125 which is as much as some long distance railtour tickets.

Some examples of lines offering affordable footplate rides

• Romney Hythe and Dymchurch
• Chinnor and Princes Risborough
• Isle of Wight steam railway
• Swanage railway
• (honourable mention) The Severn valley railway is doing a £20 Bridgnorth Pannier tank event, its only a mile but you get to sound the whistle too.

Even the Bluebell, which used to be expensive such as the £500 Camelot loco ride started doing £110 round trips.

Agree with that on footplate rides - they are the best option currently if you want to get the atmosphere of a standard operating day but are happy to watch others driving/firing.

The Bluebell is a lot cheaper than it used to be for driver tasters too. The diesel tasters are 16 mile round trips, with the 09 being £220 (around £14/mile) or the 73 being £275 (around £17/mile). Very good deals looking at some of the others on here!

Steam is always more expensive than diesel, as the steaming costs (and hire costs where applicable) are generally higher but the Bluebell is much lower than the number quoted above - a 10 mile round trip is £330, so although more expensive than the diesel tasters, it does work out at £33/mile. Still very good value considering both engines generally used for driver ex are pre 1900.

 

[james_the_xv]

However, it has never been better for the value for money of locomotive footplate rides. A lot of lines are doing round trips from £99-125 which is as much as some long distance railtour tickets.

This is a relatively untapped market imo, how many people want to have a footplate experience/gift one but £500+ is out of the price range?

£75-125 round trip (depending on distance) on the footplate including a day rover sounds reasonable for gifts and also 'treat yourself' territory.

 

[Mogulb]

The one I did was pretty much what is now the "silver" steam experience at the Great Central. Not exactly a bargain at £995 for 16 miles (£62/ mile), and I don't think I paid that much (it was 2018), but I went with my brother so we had 2 round trips to ourselves and it certainly felt like decent value as these things go.

It actually looks half decent value, includes lunch, tours of shed and signal box etc . Basically all day .

 

[Zomboid]

It actually looks half decent value, includes lunch, tours of shed and signal box etc . Basically all day .

Yeah, it was. We did the tour and other stuff first and drove in the afternoon (which is the order I'd recommend as the driving is the main event).

Their equivalent diesel one looks good too, 32 miles with coaches for £800.

 

[Trainlog]

Agree with that on footplate rides - they are the best option currently if you want to get the atmosphere of a standard operating day but are happy to watch others driving/firing.

The Bluebell is a lot cheaper than it used to be for driver tasters too. The diesel tasters are 16 mile round trips, with the 09 being £220 (around £14/mile) or the 73 being £275 (around £17/mile). Very good deals looking at some of the others on here!

Steam is always more expensive than diesel, as the steaming costs (and hire costs where applicable) are generally higher but the Bluebell is much lower than the number quoted above - a 10 mile round trip is £330, so although more expensive than the diesel tasters, it does work out at £33/mile. Still very good value considering both engines generally used for driver ex are pre 1900.

I'm glad to hear that its cheaper than it was. Happy to admit I was wrong on that one, I just remember a few years back I was looking at Camelot footplate rides and that was the figure that stood out to me.

Will certainly look into doing a footplate ride on the Bluebell next year though.

This is a relatively untapped market imo, how many people want to have a footplate experience/gift one but £500+ is out of the price range?

£75-125 round trip (depending on distance) on the footplate including a day rover sounds reasonable for gifts and also 'treat yourself' territory.

I think that's it, some people are just happy going out on the loco footplate for a ride along the line. I'm sure a drivers experience is an unforgettable experience but if that is all that's on offer it's a lot of money for one day. These footplate rides offer probably the next best thing to those that are tired of the decline in quality of mainline tours, for around the same price as a ticket on one.

I'm hoping that the lines that are offering these affordable footplate rides currently are successful with this and more lines are to follow suit.

 

[12C]

I did the Lakeside and Haverthwaite footplate ride last year and found it excellent value. It’s currently £50, for one journey up the line in the cab then return in the coaches.

Much better value than a driving experience IMO, and still very interesting to see what happens on the footplate, chat to the crew etc. Would certainly recommend.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Wensleydale railway offers 20 miles for £500 for a loco (14,33,37,47) or £300 for a dmu (pacer or bubble car) which is relatively good value compared to other railways-roughly £25 a mile

I drove 143623 at Wensleydale about a year ago, would recommend for anyone who can get there easily (that's the main barrier stopping me going again once a 142 is available for driving).

 

[Iskra]

I did the Lakeside and Haverthwaite footplate ride last year and found it excellent value. It’s currently £50, for one journey up the line in the cab then return in the coaches.

Much better value than a driving experience IMO, and still very interesting to see what happens on the footplate, chat to the crew etc. Would certainly recommend.

That’s good value compared to the price of a day ticket there!

 

[SwindonManor]

You can drive an 08 for a tenner at the East Somerset Railway this weekend.

They do steaming for fifteen too - on the industrial Lady Nan - but it has passed already - having happened earlier this year - this event normally occurs at every ESR gala.

 

[Flying Phil]

I think the GCR has done footplate rides in Quorn yard for £10 (?) at some events. They also do various packages for steam and diesel on the full line.

 

[dodecahedron67]

Okay it was for a very short distance, but I drove 313201 within Eastleigh Arlington Fleetworks for £10/15! Absolute bargain even if it was only for a very short distance