Marcus' Model Railway Journey

At the Centre of it all


Other heritage railways in Visit Peak District and Derbyshire’s area region include the Churnet Valley Railway and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.


Being at the centre of it all isn’t just a feeling here, it’s a fact.

Cara Thompson, Nottingham’s first Nature Poet Laureate

2nd February, 2026

Gala and event tickets go on sale at Cornwall railway​

2026 events at the Bodmin Railway


Tickets for numerous events across the 2026 season at the Bodmin Railway have been released.

Included in these events are an Escape Room Evening, Murder Mysteries, Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea Trains, and Teddy Trains return for Easter.

Popular events such as their steam and diesel galas and dining trains will also be returning.

Don’t miss out on the fun and adventures, and make sure you book popular events before they sell out.

Further information on the events, dates and tickets can be found on their website.

2nd February, 2026

Tickets for Chinnor Diesel Gala go on sale!​

Class 26 No. 26043


The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway is hosting their Annual Diesel Gala on the 20th to 22nd March.

Visiting locomotives include a Class 66 and Class 26 ‘26043’, with 26043 providing driver experiences.

These will join 37227, 47715, D1501, D2069 (brake vans), and 08825 (brake vans), which will feature in the gala.

Tickets have now gone on sale, with online prices starting at £22 for a 1-day rover.


2-day and 3-day rover tickets can only be booked online, which can be done so here.

2nd February, 2026

Centenary tribute to closure of Northern Ireland tramway​

Kitson steam locomotive no. 3 with a passenger car and luggage van at Portstewart station


The Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire has issued a tribute for the centenary of the closure of the Portstewart Tramway in Northern Ireland.

Last Friday, 30th January, marked 100 years since the tramway closed.

The tramway, opened on 14th June 1882, was the first roadside steam tramway in Ireland, and served the seaside resort of Portstewart in County Antrim.

Train waiting at the Parade in Portstewart with a tramcar in Northern Counties Committee livery


After a railway opened to the fishing village of Portrush, it blossomed into a thriving holiday destination, but because a local landowner refused to sell the land needed for the railway to reach the nearby hamlet of Portstewart, the railway company built a station to serve Portstewart, 1¾ miles from the hamlet.

To connect Portstewart railway station to Portstewart village, a 3-foot gauge steam tramway was laid alongside the highway.

Rolling stock comprised of a 0-4-0 steam locomotive, built by Kitson’s of Leeds, one single-deck carriage, and one double-deck 4-wheel passenger carriage.

A smoking carriage was provided by adding seats and a window to a four-wheel luggage van, all supplied by Metropolitan-Cammell of Birmingham.

Later, two more locomotives and two open-topped double-deck bogie passenger cars were purchased.

Heavily laden passenger car pictured in Victoria Terrace in Portstewart with a tramcar in Northern Counties Committee livery


In 1897, the tramway was taken over by the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR), which added extra rolling stock, built a new depot, and re-laid much of the track.

Six years later, in 1903, the Midland Railway absorbed the BNCR and delegated its management to the “Northern Counties Committee” (NCC), based in Belfast.

By the time of the Grouping of Britain’s railways in 1923, revenues of the tramway were in decline, and the infrastructure was showing signs of its age.

These factors, as well as competition from motor buses, led to the tramway’s closure on 30th January 1926, with most rolling stock being sold at auction.

However, two locomotives were preserved, being initially stored at the NCC’s locomotive works at York Road, Belfast.

In May 1939, one locomotive was moved to the Hull Streetlife Museum, which at that time was Britain’s only Transport Museum.

Steam tram locomotive No. 2 survived air raids during April and May 1941 that almost destroyed York Road station, and is now housed in the Ulster Transport Museum.

Work is taking place in Northern Ireland to restore an NCC Class WT 2-6-4T steam locomotive, which is based on the LMS Fowler 2-6-4 tank engines, and the Downpatrick & County Down Railway is also restoring other items from Ireland’s railway heritage.