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The Avon Valley Railway offers you the chance of a lifetime to realise your dream of driving one of our locomotives!
We offer two different half-day experiences throughout the year on our steam or diesel locomotives, all under the expert supervision of our experienced Drivers and Firemen. All courses include an introduction to the locomotive, safety briefing, commemorative certificate and complimentary annual gift membership of the Avon Valley Railway. Each session is approx 3 1/2 hours long and either starts at 9.45am or 1.15pm.
There are two participants per session and on our morning one you’ll meet the crew over breakfast in our café and be given an introductory briefing covering what to expect, safety and how the locomotive works. You’ll then split up with one of you being aboard the footplate (or in the cab) to drive/fire the locomotive yourself (under expert supervision of course!) for one round trip of the line. You’ll then swap over and spend a second trip with the Guard understanding this aspect of our train operations. Afterwards you’ll enjoy lunch in our café with the crew and meet the afternoon participants who will be eager to hear your stories of your time onboard.
For the afternoon session you’ll do exactly the same, but enjoy lunch first followed by coffee and cake at the end of your time with us.
There are a few pieces of safety information that you’ll need to consider before booking one of our Experiences and this can be found below. You’ll need to read this before the day and sign a copy before you’re permitted to board the locomotive.
Please note that, due to the nature of the experience, you need to be 18 or over to participate.
Driver Experience Course Safety Advice
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