Events
Previous Events
Each year we run a significant programme of special events. and some of these are sufficiently memorable that we think that some details of them are worth recording.
This page therefore contains the record of the significant special events that we have run during the last couple of years, with the most recent ones at the top of the list.
Heritage Open Weekend
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September 2022
Heritage Open Days
Find out More about our Industrial Heritage
For the second weekend of the nation-wide "Heritage Open Days" event, we offered illustrated in-person talks about this historic site, on the railway where the world’s very first successful, load-hauling steam locomotive ran in the year of 1812.
The talks lasted some 20 to 25 minutes and ran hourly from 10.00 to 3.00 p.m. on each day. There was no charge for these talks, and no need to book for them. They took visitors briefly through our history, from the working of the coal outcrops in Middleton Woods in mediaeval times, via the country’s first wooden (horse-drawn) railway in the eighteenth century and the revolutionary steam loco “Salamanca” - arguably, Leeds’ premier contribution to the Industrial Revolution - to the present situation as the country‘s first standard-gauge preserved railway. After that, visitors were welcome to buy a ticket and ride on our trains!
The normal timetable operated on both days, and the normal fares applied.
Children's Day
Saturday 20th August 2022
Princesses and Pirates
For Princesses and Pirates
A special day for children, with free activities, including face painting, activity sheets, interactive stories, treasure hunts and dance classes.
The face painting and activity sheets were available all day. The story telling was in the platform shelter, starting 15 minutes before each train departed, and then there was a treasure hunt on each train. The dancing started out on the mezzanine floor, but this got sufficiently warm that the later sessions were moved into the conference room. The sessions were at 11:00, 11:45, 12:20 and 14:50.
Special children's lunch boxes were available, at £3.50 each. Also sandwiches for adults, at £2.25.
Diesel trains ran, and the normal timetable applied.
Normal fares applied for adults (ie £7 each), but there was a special fare of £1 for each child (ie aged between 3 and 15 inclusive). This special fare for children included all of the activities.
Leeds Classic Bus Running Day
Sunday 14th August 2022
A bus at the railway, taking part in the 2018 day
Rides on vintage Leeds buses
This event returned after a break caused by CoViD.
It saw vintage Leeds City Transport buses, and others, running on routes through the city that linked up local museums.
Diesel trains ran (because of the fire risk), and the normal timetable and fares applied. A separate page gives more details of this event.
Model Railway Exhibition
Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd July 2022
A layout at a previous exhibition
See the Models alongside the Real Thing
This is now a well established event, and it returned after a covid-enforced break. Our Model Railway Exhibition featured both models and the real thing in action. There was an opportunity to drive one of our locos, as well as see our museum full of layouts.
Steam trains ran on both days, and the normal timetable applied. Special fares applied, and a separate page gives more details of this event.
Transport Walk
Sunday 19th June 2022
A tram on the route that ran through Middleton Woods
A guided walk round some of the old transport routes through Middleton Park
The walk was organised by the Friends of Middleton Park, and led by one of our members. It started at 13:30, near the visitor centre, and finished at 15:30. It included:
- 1750s coal wagonways, which were used to move wagons downhill by gravity and return the empty wagons by horse;
- the electric tramway, initially constructed to get building materials to the new housing between the wars; and
- a section of the Great Northern Railway route that skirted round south Leeds.
Our usual timetable and fares applied.
Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration
Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June 2022
Join the Celebrations
Celebrating 70 Years
Diesel trains ran on Saturday and steam trains on Sunday. The normal timetable applied, but on the Sunday afternoon there were two extra trains for the benefit of visitors to the event in Middleton Park. These departed from Moor Road at 16:10 and 16:50, and from Park Halt at 16:25 and 17:05 respectively.
The following special fares applied.
- Adults over 70: 70p;
- Other Adults: £7;
- Children: 70p.
Teddy Bears Picnic and Bluebell Walks
Saturday 30th April, Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May 2022
The teddy bears in the woods
Bring your Teddies to see the Bluebells
On Sunday and Monday some trains were met at Middleton Park for a family-friendly walk round the Bluebell displays. Each walk gave a chance to explore the woods and see the Bluebells with an experienced local guide.
We had hoped to also run walks on Saturday 30th April, but shortage of staff meant that this was not possible. It also meant that on the Saturday we were not able to start running trains until 13:30.
The Friends of Middleton Park ran the walks in Middleton Park on 1st and 2nd May. On each day they met the following trains at Park Halt.
- The 11:10 departure from Moor Road;
- the 12:30 departure from Moor Road; and
- the 14:10 departure from Moor Road.
Children with a teddy bear travelled free.
The normal fare applied for children without a teddy bear, but we gave them a teddy bear.
On the Sunday and Monday:
- for adults a selection of sandwiches was available, at £2.25p each; and
- for children a teddy bear's picnic box was available, at £3.50p each. This contained a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a packet of Pom Bears crisps, a drink and a cake bar. It also contained an activity sheet and some crayons.
Diesel trains ran on Saturday, starting at 13:30, and steam trains on Sunday and Monday, starting at 10:30. The normal timetable and adult fares applied, apart from the late start on the Saturday.
Easter Weekend
Saturday 16th, Sunday 17th and Monday 18th April 2022
Easter chocolate
Free Easter Chocolate for Children
Diesel trains ran on Saturday, and steam trains on Sunday and Monday.
For children travelling on the train services and accompanied by a fare-paying adult, we gave away free chocolate.
The normal timetable and fares applied.
Community Day
Saturday 2nd April 2022
A community
Come and Find Out about Local Groups
Perhaps Get Involved?
A day aimed at our local communities, where visitors could come and explore what they do.
The following organisations were represented:
- Middleton Life History Group,
- Friends of Middleton Park,
- Middleton Park Equestrian Centre,
- Hunslet TARA (Tenants and Residents Association),
- South Leeds Life,
- West Yorkshire Police,
- West Yorkshire Fire Brigade (with a Fire Engine attending, when it was not required elsewhere).
Diesel trains ran, and our usual timetable and fares applied. There were significant fare concessions for passengers from our local community.
North Eastern Running Weekend
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October 2021
Ride behind our main line steam locomotives from the North East
This last event before our Santa Specials featured our newly overhauled Sentinel, 68153, and NER 1310 in the last few weeks of its boiler ticket.
These two locomotives ran both on our normal passenger line, and over the little-used Balm Road branch. Visitors could catch this opportunity to see them together and ride behind them!
Train services started at 10:30 am. Click here for more details of the timetable (which will open in a new browser tab or window).
Special fares applied: £10.00p for an adult and £1.00p for a child. There were no family tickets for this event, and the only travel concessions that applied were the normal ones for registered carers.
Model Railways On Display
From Saturday 14th August to Sunday 26th September 2021
"Pop-Up" Model Railway Displays
Displays of one or two model railway layouts each weekend.
See the models alongside the real thing.
We were not able to run our normal model railway exhibition earlier this year, but in place of this we had "pop-up" displays of one or two layouts, on weekends except the Bank Holiday from 14th August to the end of September.
Normal fares and train times applied.
A separate page gives more details of the dates and the layouts.
September Gala
Saturday 4th September and Sunday 5th September 2021
First and Last Chance Weekend
A first chance to see the newly-overhauled "No. 6".
A last chance to see NER 1310 before it retires from service.
This gala event featured trains operating over the whole line, including the little-used Balm Road branch.
On each day a special intensive service operated, and special fares applied. A separate page gave more details of this event.
Walking Tour
Sunday 15th August 2021
Explore the Route of the Railway
A guided walk from Leeds Bridge to our Moor Road station, exploring the original route of the railway as it carried coals almost into the centre of the city.
The walk also took in the famous half square mile of Hunslet, through which the route of the railway ran, and where locomotives were manufactured for the world.
Walkers could then follow the walk with a ride on the railway.
The walk started from the downstream side of Leeds Bridge, near the Leeds crest, at 10.00, and it took about 2 hours. More details of it were available at the Leeds City Walking Tours site (which will open in a separate browser window or tab).
The charge for the walk was £10.00p per person, and bookings for it were made through Eventbrite.
The charge for the walk did not include the train fare, but there was a special fare for walkers of £5.00 per person, which was payable at the railway.
Star Rails
Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th October 2019
Our second Comic-Con style event!
Following on from the success of 2018's event, this event featured special exhibits, sci-fi characters in costume (as shown in the picture here, taken in our display hall), and more.
Steam trains ran, and our usual timetable applied, but special fares were charged. A separate page gives more details of this event.
Heritage Diesel Day
Saturday 12th October 2019
See a historic diesel locomotive in action
An opportunity to ride behind one of our historic diesel locomotives. Click here for more details of this opportunity.
Our usual timetable and fares applied.
Heritage Diesel Weekend
Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September 2019
See historic diesel locomotives in action
Following the movement of our "Works Outing" event to the previous weekend, in response to planned road closures, we ran some of our historic diesel locomotives on both Saturday and Sunday. A special timetable was in operation, and included some trains running over the Balm Road branch. Click here for more details of these services.
Our usual fares applied.
Works Outing
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September 2019
Note the change of date from previous publicity
This change was made because of planned road closures in the area of the railway, and so this event was combined with the Heritage Open Days.
Showcasing our own Locomotive Fleet
If it worked, it would get an outing - or at least, that was the aim. The event featured passenger trains and mixed trains operating over the whole line, including the little-used Balm Road branch.
On each day a special intensive service operated, and special fares applied. A separate page gives more details of this event.
SteamPunk - A Return to Middleton
Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July 2019
Come and enjoy Steam Punks in action
If you are not sure who or what "Steam Punks" are, then visit the website of the Leeds and Bradford Steampunk Markets, with whom we collaborated to arrange this event. The link to their site will open in a new browser window or tab.
The event featured a variety of market stalls with arts, crafts and costumes, hot and cold food, birds of prey, charity tombola and "Coffee Jousting" displays.
Our usual steam trains were running, and normal fares applied, but with a charge for those who were just coming to visit the market.
Steam trains ran on both days, and our usual timetable applied. A separate page gives more details of this event.
Mixed Traffic Weekend
Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June 2019
Passenger and Goods Trains
This gala event featured passenger trains and mixed trains operating over the whole line, including the little-used Balm Road branch.
On each day a special intensive service operated, and special fares applied. A separate page gives more details of this event.
Fathers' Day Weekend
Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th June 2019
Special Attractions for Fathers (and others!)
A package that gives the opportunity to ride on one of our locomotives and visit our workshops. This package is aimed at fathers, but is definitely not restricted just to them!
Our usual timetable and fares applied, but with special charges for the packages. A separate page gives more details of this event.
Charity Weekend
Saturday 4th, Sunday 5th May and Monday 6th May 2019
Support Marie Curie in Leeds
For our charity weekend there were activities to support the work of Marie Curie in Leeds.
Steam trains ran on all three days, and our normal timetable applied. A separate page gives more details of this event.
Art Exhibition
Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April 2019
An exhibition of painting and drawings by Jo Dunn
This included some Leeds landmarks, such as Gledhow Wood Road and Arthington Viaduct, as well as scenes from further afield.
Our usual timetable and fares applied.
Last Coals to Leeds
Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September 2018
A commemoration of our mining heritage
This gala event recreated some of the sights from the days when the Middleton Colliery was still sending coal to Leeds. It featured passenger trains and mixed trains operating over the whole line, including the little-used Balm Road branch.
There was a development project supporting this event, and a separate page gives more details of this project.
On each day a special intensive service of steam trains operated, and special fares applied. Another separate page gives more details of this event.
More Information
Other pages of our web site will provide more information about:
"Last Coals to Leeds" Event
As part of our "Last Coals to Leeds" project, this event will be held on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September 2018, and will focus on locomotives and other rolling stock that worked at collieries. Sadly, none of the locomotives that actually worked at Middleton Broom Colliery have survived, but similar ones have, and the ones that will be operating will be as follows:
- HC 1544, representing "Blenkinsop; Nineteen Fifty Three" (HC 1871, which did work at Middleton Colliery);
- MW 1601, representing "Forward" (MW 1690, which worked at Yorkshire Main Colliery, Edlington);
- HE 3839 "Wimblebury", which worked at Cannock Wood Colliery in Staffordshire, and is visiting from the Foxfield Railway.
Similarly, none of the goods wagons that actually worked at Middleton Broom Colliery have survived, but again similar ones have, and the ones that will be operating will include:
- our five-plank open wagon in pre-NCB Middleton Colliery livery, now numbered 50 to mark this event;
- our flat wagon in Middleton Colliery livery;
- our "Dogfish" hopper wagon, now in NCB livery; and
- our 13-ton open wagon in bauxite livery, as used in the 1958 special train to mark 200 years of the Middleton Railway.
HE 3839 "Wimblebury",
Picture © Ian Smith, 2018
On both days a special timetable will be operated, providing an intensive service over both our main passenger line and the little-used Balm Road branch. Two train sets will be in operation, one a passenger train and the other a demonstration freight train. The demonstration freight train will make one journey only on each day, and will not be carrying passengers, apart from a special party on the Saturday from Leeds City Council, who have sponsored this event.
There will be a variety of patterns of operation, including some trains that will have a locomotive at each end, and possibly some that will be double-headed. The first train will depart at 10.00 am and the last one will arrive at 4.50 pm.
Full details of the timetable can be accessed as pdf files, which will each open in a new browser tab or window (ready to be downloaded), as follows.
Special fares will apply for each day, namely £9 for an adult, £3 for a child and £20 for a family ticket (covering up to 2 adults and 3 children). In addition, the various travel concessions that apply to our normal train services will not apply for this event.
As well as our normal range of refreshments, including hot and cold drinks and sweets, we will have a range of sandwiches available on each day.
We are pleased to advise visitors arriving by car that we have been able to arrange overflow car parking on a site on Tulip Street, opposite the retail car park.
Whilst every effort will be made to provide the advertised services, The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. reserves the right to amend or cancel any service without prior notice and accepts no liability whatsoever for any inconvenience, loss or disappointment caused, including travel expenses.
More Information
Other pages of our web site will provide more information about:
Mixed Traffic Weekend 2019
Our Mixed Traffic Gala weekend was held on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June 2019, and featured a variety of operating patterns, including mixed traffic workings (ie with passenger and goods vehicles in the one train). All the locomotives were drawn from our own fleet, and included:
- NER 1310 (now that it was available for traffic again, following recent repairs);
- HE 2387 "Brookes No. 1";
- HE 1697 "John Alcock"; and
- HC D1373 "Mersey Docks & Harbour Board No. 45".
NER 1310, waiting in the Moor Road loop at a previous gala.
Picture © Tony Cowling 2016.
Saturday and Sunday Services
On both days a special timetable was operated, providing an intensive service over both our main passenger line and the little-used Balm Road branch. Two train sets were in operation, with one running as a mixed train with both passenger and goods stock.
There was a variety of patterns of operation, including some trains that had a locomotive at each end, and some that were double-headed. The first train departed at 10.30 am and the last one arrived at 4.30 pm.
Full details of the timetable were available, including the scheduled locomotives for each train, as a pdf file, which will open in a new browser tab or window (ready to be downloaded): click here to access this.
Special fares applied for each day, namely £7.50p for an adult, £3.50p for a child and £20 for a family ticket (covering up to 2 adults and 3 children). The various travel concessions that apply to our normal train services did, however, not apply for this event.
Our normal range of refreshments was available on each day, including hot and cold drinks and sweets and a range of sandwiches.
HC D1373 Mersey Docks & Harbour Board No. 45, pictured soon after arrival on the Middleton Railway.
Picture © Tony Cowling 2017.
Whilst every effort will be made to provide the advertised services, The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. reserves the right to amend or cancel any service without prior notice and accepts no liability whatsoever for any inconvenience, loss or disappointment caused, including travel expenses.
More Information
Other pages of our web site will provide more information about:
SteamPunk - A Return to Middleton 2019
Following the successes of previous years, our "Steampunk - A Return to Middleton" event will be held on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July 2019, in collaboration with the Leeds and Bradford Steampunk Markets. The train operations for this will be as follows.
- Our usual train services will operate to the normal timetable;
- Steam trains will be operating on each day; and
- Rides in the locomotive cab will be available: more details of this are given below.
As well as our train services, the "market stall" part of the event, which will be staged in the Engine House, will feature at least the following activities:
- authors;
- artists;
- clothing stalls;
- birds of prey (we hope that the owl will be flying again, but unfortunately this will only on Saturday);
- hot and cold food stalls, including "The Golden Grail Tavern";
- fire eating displays;
- some table-top gaming;
- coffee jousting (and if you are not sure what that is, see the Leeds Steampunk Market website), but probably only on one day (which day is still to be confirmed); and
- a charity tombola in aid of Wheatfields Hospice in Headingley, which is one of the Sue Ryder homes.
The owl preparing to fly at the 2016 event.
Picture © Tony Cowling, 2016.
The charge for entry to the market fair (and to our museum) will be £2.00p per person (adults or children). Normal train fares will apply, and will be additional to this entry charge.
We had hoped to provide some tours of our workshops for those who were interested, but we regret that this will not be possible.
The owl on top of Mirvale's cab.
Picture © Tony Cowling, 2016.
Footplate Rides
A footplate ride gives you the opportunity to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive, for one return journey from Moor Road to Park Halt and back again. See for yourself just what has to be done to make these historic machines work!
There are a number of special conditions that do have to apply to this, however, and these are as follows.
- For a footplate ride you must be at least 18 years old, and not older than 76 years.
- You also need to be in reasonable health - at least up to the level that is required to drive a motor car - and at the time of the experience you must not be under the influence of either drink or drugs.
- No prior booking is needed: rides will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
- A special charge will apply of £20.00p, in addition to the usual fare, and this special charge will go towards our appeal to help return "No. 6" to steam. If you are willing to make a donation on top of this minimum charge, this will be much appreciated.
- You will need to wear suitable clothes. Elaborate costumes are not recommended - they are really not compatible with steam locomotive footplates!
- In particular, you will need to wear reasonably stout shoes. Trainers are not sufficient - they would not protect your toes if a lump of coal dropped on them!
General Conditions
Whilst every effort will be made to provide the advertised services, The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. reserves the right to amend or cancel any service without prior notice and accepts no liability whatsoever for any inconvenience, loss or disappointment caused, including travel expenses.
More Information
Other pages of our web site will provide more information about:
Charity Weekend 2019
While the Middleton Railway is itself a charity, for the last few years it has also held an event to support an external charity. This year this event was to support Marie Curie, and it was held on the weekend of 4th to 6th May 2019.
Trains ran at their normal times, with the first train leaving Moor Road at 11.00 and the last one at 16.00.
Other features of this event were:
- stalls and a tombola supporting the work of Marie Curie;
- the chance to have a go at driving one of our diesel locomotives, as a "driver experience" experience - more details of these "driver experiences" are given below; and
- the opportunity to ride in the cab of one of our steam locomotives as it hauls the train up the line - more details of these footplate rides are given below.
"Driver Experience"
A "driver experience" gives you the chance to drive one of our diesel locomotives for a short distance, up and down one of our sidings. This will be under instruction from one of our senior drivers, who will make sure that nothing can go wrong.
There are a number of special conditions that have to apply to this, and these are as follows.
- For a "driver experience" you must be at least 18 years old, and not older than 76 years.
- You also need to be in reasonable health - at least up to the level that is required to drive a motor car - and at the time of the experience you must not be under the influence of either drink or drugs.
- No prior booking is needed: experiences will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
- For the experience, there is a charge of £5 minimum, which will go towards Marie Curie. If you are willing to make a donation to Marie Curie on top of this minimum charge, this will be much appreciated.
- You should wear suitable clothes, and then we can lend you an overall coat and a pair of gloves for the duration of the experience.
Footplate Rides
A footplate ride gives you the opportunity to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive, for one return journey from Moor Road to Park Halt and back again. See for yourself just what has to be done to make these historic machines work!
There are a number of special conditions that do have to apply to this, however, and these are as follows.
- For a footplate ride you must be at least 18 years old, and not older than 76 years.
- You also need to be in reasonable health - at least up to the level that is required to drive a motor car - and at the time of the experience you must not be under the influence of either drink or drugs.
- No prior booking is needed: rides will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
- A special charge will apply of £20.00p, in addition to the usual fare, and this special charge will go towards Marie Curie. If you are willing to make a donation on top of this minimum charge, this will be much appreciated.
- You will need to wear suitable clothes, and reasonably stout shoes. Trainers are not sufficient - they would not protect your toes if a lump of coal dropped on them!
Other Previous Events
Return to the page for previous events.
More Information
Other pages of our web site will provide more information about:
