Santa by Steam at South Devon Railway
7th December 2016
Categories: Visitor News
Christmas is a special time of year – especially at South Devon Railway. Families from all over the UK visit to take very special festive rides on a beautiful vintage steam train … and meet Father Christmas. We spoke to South Devon Railway to find out how they bring Yuletide magic to excited children every year …
Station staff get the place ready for everyone, with a roaring fire lit in the waiting room and musical entertainment outside the booking office.”
Every December, Father Christmas comes to see us on the South Devon Railway to ride on his special grotto steam train, and he and all his helper elves will all be back to see us once again this year.
It’s an exciting time for everyone, and he can’t wait to meet all the children and their mums and dads who will ride behind steam power on our scenic, friendly railway line, which runsseven miles between Buckfastleigh and Totnes.
But the preparations for Santa’s visit start much earlier in the year for us when our staff and volunteers first help Santa find all of the right presents for the children, then wrap them up for him, and finally prepare and decorate the train, including his special Christmas grotto which is actually on the warm, steam-heated train itself.
The steam engines have to be lit up and cleaned by their dedicated volunteer crews bright and early every day, and the train warmed up for Santa’s journeys, whilst station staff get the place ready for everyone, with a roaring fire lit in the waiting room and musical entertainment outside the booking office.
During your trip from Buckfastleigh to the ‘North Pole’ – which is Totnes station in reality – all the children go and see Father Christmas in his wonderful grotto to collect their Christmas present and also enjoy a drink and a biscuit.
And the grown-ups aren’t forgotten either: there’s a warming glass of mulled wine or a non-alcoholic alternative, and a mince pie for each of them. The journey takes an hour and a half to two hours.
All the trains start and finish at Buckfastleigh which has a large, free car park. This year, Santa’s trains will run on the weekends of Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th, Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th, plus from Saturday 17th through to Saturday 24th December inclusive.
Santa by Steam tickets have been selling fast since going on sale, with availability now only on Monday 19th, Tuesday, 20th, Wednesday 21st, Thursday 22nd.
Booking is easy – just go to the SDR website www.southdevonrailway.co.uk and click on the Go Online icon to choose which train you want to ride on and buy your tickets. Alternatively, you can call the booking office on 01364 644370 to make your booking or email us at trains@southdevonrailway.org
Our Expressway model railway and gift shop is fully stocked up with Xmas presents and gift vouchers for children of all ages, and is open for business from Wednesdays to Sundays in December, and then every day from Monday 19-24 December, alongside the SDR’s award-winning Refreshment Rooms.
With ample car parking at Buckfastleigh just off the A38 Devon Expressway, the South Devon Railway is just 25 minutes from Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay and easy-to-find.
BOXING DAY & MINCE PIE TRAINS
Our volunteers will also be busy on Xmas Day itself preparing to run special steam train services on Boxing Day and preparing for the Mince Pie trains from Tuesday 27 December to Monday 2 January inclusive.
With just a limited on-train buffet available on Boxing Day and the SDR’s Refreshment Rooms and models & gift shop closed until Tuesday 27th December, we are encouraging our visitors to bring along their own “Xmas Dinner Leftovers Picnic” of food and drink so that they can enjoy a festive packed lunch on the rails.
Boxing Day trains will run to a special timetable departing Buckfastleigh at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm and from Totnes at 12.15pm, 2.15pm and 4.15pm. There will be a 15-minute stop at Staverton on the first two trains returning from Totnes, where the volunteer-run station buffet coach is expected to be open serving hot drinks, pasties, soup and mince pies.
All of the Boxing Day and Mince Pie special trains have plenty of seats available and DO NOT NEED to be pre-booked. Find out more
Special gift vouchers for the award-winning Dining Train and ‘Drive-A-Train’ days are available on the South Devon Railway website. All images by Sarah Anne Harvey
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