The Steam Dreams Rail Co., offers over 25 day excursions and some longer holidays through the Spring and Summer picking up from stations across the country. Travelling in vintage carriages with on-board buffet cars and delicious at seat dining options, all departures offer a range of ticket prices from Premium  Standard - non-dining tickets - to luxurious Pullman Style Dining. www.steamdreams.co.uk

'This sceptred isle..…. on St George's Day' : Thursday 23rd April

A patriotic steam departure from London Paddington , Slough, Reading, Oxford and Warwick to Stratford-Upon-Avon. To celebrate Shakespeare's birthday the town is alive with vibrant pageantry and street performances; key venues offer special events for all the family and the museum guest book is reopened just for the day so visitors have the chance to sign their name, as Charles Dickens and John Keats have before. Fares from Oxford from £79pp for Premium Standard and from Paddington at £269pp for Pullman Style Dining. 

'Carson, we'll have tea now….Highclere Castle' : Sunday 3rd May

Board at London Victoria  to travel in full Downton Abbey style to Highclere Castle to visit this most sumptuous grand country house built in1842 by architect Sir Charles Barry and explore the magnificent 500 acre park, landscaped by Capability Brown. Alight at Newbury for Highclere Castle, or continue on to the Georgian towns of Bath and Bristol before returning. Prices from £109pp for Premium Standard, £209pp for Premier Dining and £269 for Pullman Style Dining.

Flying Scotsman to Edinburgh….4 days, 2nd – 5th July, from £349pp

A breath-taking long weekend travelling with the world-famous Flying Scotsman, re-tracing the historic east coast route from King's Cross. Hauled by vintage diesel to York, passengers then join Flying Scotsman for an express ride – up to 75mph – along the very line for which it was originally designed, enjoying spectacular views of the Yorkshire Moors through Northumberland to Alnwick and Berwick before steaming into Waverley Station in the heart of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh offers additional excursions over the world famous Forth Bridge behind Flying Scotsman – with outstanding views of up to 20 miles – or trips to the Royal Yacht Britannia, Stirling Castle or Culross Palace. Prices from £349 for First Class Non Dining, £699 for Premier Dining and £899 for Pullman Style Dining. Hotel accommodation not included, can be booked as part of the package.

For further information contact WixHill PR:

Tim Fordham-Moss / Pippa Evans

tim@wixhill.co.uk / pippa@wixhill.co.uk

+44 (0) 771 491788 / + 44 (0) 7545 522292

Editor's Notes:

61306 Mayflower

Built for the London & North Eastern Railway in 1948, 61306 Mayflower is one of two surviving B1 Class locomotives. Designed as mixed traffic locomotives capable of hauling express passenger trains as well as freight traffic, the B1s are powerful, go anywhere engines and worked across most of the UK rail network from East Anglia to Scotland.

Mayflower was built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow but was delivered post-nationalisation and acquired the number 61306 by British Railways. She was first allocated to Hull Botanic Gardens Depot followed by a spell at Hull Dairycotes Depot before being finally transferred to Low Moor Depot, Bradford. She was the last B1 in service, her final trip was hauling the 'Yorkshire Pullman' from Leeds in September 1967.

Mayflower was immediately purchased for preservation and was initially based at Steamtown in Carnforth. She was fully restored for mainline operation and worked a number of railtours in the 1970's. Acquired by Steam Dreams owner David Buck in 2014, she returned to the mainline in 2015 before being withdrawn for an extensive overhaul. Resplendent in the early British Railways apple green livery as she was originally given when delivered in 1948 she returned to full mainline operation in early 2019.

Mayflower has two cylinders, 6 driving wheels, a firebox grate area of 30 square feet and can operate at 75mph.

Carbon Offset

The Steam Dreams Rail Co. is the first rail charter to be carbon neutral. Every year the company makes a donation to carbon reduction projects, to offset the carbon emissions that steam engines produce.

This year, Steam Dreams Rail Co. is sponsoring a solar project based in India, supporting India in the transition to a low carbon economy through renewable energy generation and ask all their passengers to contribute a small £1 voluntary supplement towards this cause. www.eco-act.com. 

Steam Dreams

• Under new leadership, having been acquired in 2018 by locomotive owner David Buck, Steam Dreams Rail Co is delighted to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year
• The first trip left London for Salisbury in 1999 and was an immediate success
• Almost two decades later, the company is proud to be offering day trips to more than 35 different destinations and picking up passengers at over 100 stations across the UK every year
• As well as day trips, Steam Dreams offers a number of multi-day tours around the British Isles, Ireland and Continental Europe. In autumn 2021, the company will be including a tour of New Zealand in their programme.
• The company has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence every year since 2015, and was short-listed for Best Rail Holiday Provider in the inaugural Silver Travel Awards