Shropshire and Powys routes named in UK's best nostalgic train journeys

With 2025 marking 200 years since the first passenger railway service in the UK, The i Paper have asked rail enthusiasts to share their favourite vintage train journeys across the country.

Included in the list of nine were heritage railways in beauty spots across the county, including Devon, the Yorkshire Moors and the Isle of Man. 

But two local services were also named by the national newspaper - the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) and the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway. 

The Severn Valley Railway was originally part of the much longer Shrewsbury to Hartlebury line that opened in 1862 after a nine-year building project. The Bewdley to Kidderminster section opened 16 years later, in 1878.

Passenger services stopped on the line in 1963, but two years later a series of negotiations took place between the Severn Valley Railway Society and British Railways. In 1966, the line was purchased for £25,000. By 1969, the society had four locos at its disposal including 'The Flying Pig' which still runs on the line today.

Speaking to The i, Richard Doe, secretary of Norfolk and Suffolk Narrow Gauge Modellers, explained why the historic route through Shropshire and Worcestershire was his favourite.

“The route takes you through some of the UK’s finest scenery as well as small rural stations like Arley, Highley and Hampton Loade which takes you back more than 100 years,” he said.

“Highley also has the Engine House Museum which displays a number of locos, coaches and other exhibits and is well worth a visit.”

The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway was built in 1903 to link farming communities with the market town of Welshpool and provide them with an outlet for their produce.

By 1931, the railway only carried freight traffic and was finally closed in 1956. But in 1963, a group of enthusiasts rallied around and began to progressively re-open the line until it became the heritage railway it is today. 

Now, the journey takes visitors over a viaduct and river bridge, passes through the Powis Estate and climbs the notoriously steep Golfa Bank.

Stephen Fulljames, co-founder of Light Railway Stores, told The i why it's one of his top railways.

“Its character has remained very close to its original form as a minor railway serving a rural community. The original engines and replicas of the carriages are still in use, and they have now been joined by a collection of other stock from around the world,” Fulljames says.

“It might not have the dramatic scenery of other Welsh lines, but the leisurely experience in the rolling countryside is always a great day out.”

Slightly further afield, the world's oldest narrow-gauge railway also gets a shout-out. The Ffestiniog Railway through Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park runs between coastal Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Ffestiniog Travel’s chairman and volunteer train driver Nigel Burbidge told The i that he had began "lifelong love affair" with the railway as a young child.

He added: “The same engines and their Victorian carriages still ply their trade in the beautiful Vale of Ffestiniog – and are still as enchanting as they were.”

The full article is available to view online at: inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/uks-best-nostalgic-train-journeys-according-railway-enthusiasts-3466969