Midland Railway (Butterley) — Attraction in Amber Valley

Highly recommended and a certainly very appealing and endearing railway attraction in the heart of Derbyshire. The railway a short distance between Butterley and just after Swanwick Junction and offers heritage rides on both Diesel and Steam Locomotives on the dates it is open and it is advised to check their calendar on their website before visiting to get the best experience. The rides run at various times throughout the day and a full timetable can be viewed on the website. The ride itself is very pleasant and relaxing for the short distance.What makes this place very special is that there is a variety of things to do at both Butterley and Swanwick Junction Stations. At Butterley Station you can see a Model Railway which is remarkably fun and wonderful to see on the eye and The Garden Railway where you can see small steam trains run on the layout in a very charming picturesque and pretty layout. At Swanwick Junction there is a plenty to see and do and these include The Golden Valley Light Railway, St Saviours Church (Victorian Railwayman Church), West Shed Experience, Demonstration Signal Box, Road Transport Building, Fork Truck Heritage Centre, Matthew Kirtley Building, Butterley Park Miniature Railway and Stationary Power House along with The Country Park. Swanwick Junction houses the Deeleys Tearoom and also the Art of the Railways Exhibtion where you can see some fantastic paintings of the Pioneers of the Midland Railway and artefacts of Railway Memorabilia which are very intriguing and interesting. The West Shed Experience which is by the best attraction at the site houses two LMS Stanier Pacific Locomotives 'The Duchess of Sutherland' and ' Princess Margaret Rose' which are magnificently displayed and are truly breathtaking on the eye to see. In the West Shed Experience you can see some spectacular carriages and one of which Sir Winston Churchill rode in during WWII for D-Day and you can inside the Carriages from the viewing platforms to get an idea of what life was like on board. In the West Shed Experience there is a great informative exhibitions about Stanier and how the Pacific Locomotives came into being, which is great and there is a replica office of Stanier you can view and there is a large viewing gallery where you can see inside the workshops getting an idea of how the Locomotives are restored. In the Matthew Kirtley Building you can see the main exhibition hall for the Midland Railway and their historic Locomotives, Carriages and Wagons. The Golden Light Railway is a small narrow gauge Railway, which costs extra for the train rides and takes through the heart if the Country Park where you can enjoy some lovely picturesque scenery. There is St Saviours Church which is a place where Railwayman went for their religious services but also found peace and tranquility from their memorial church and you can wander inside and imagine how it was used back in the day. The Demonstration Signal Box gives visitors an insight into how the controls work inside and gives signals to trains whilst in operation and there is a traditional lever frame to see inside aswell. At Swanwick Junction Station you can see the Stationary Power House where you can see a variety of fascinating machines from agriculture and industry and marvel at their engineering and operational capacity, which is simply amazing and you can see the Road Transport Building with a variety of buses and other road vehicles. There is the Fork Truck Heritage Centre where you can see a variety of Fork Trucks and also the Butterley Park Miniature Railway where you can enjoy a ride on a miniature steam train. The Country Park is a 35 acre site where you can enjoy a lovely relaxing walk and take in some lovely picturesque scenery. There is a variety of refreshments available at very reasonable prices in the Cafe. There is also a variety of lovely souvenirs available at Butterley Station at very reasonable. Overall this is a truly fabulous and simply amazing and a truly special place to visit and makes for a spectacular and...

Good grief - what an underrated attraction this is! The people who left less than enthusiastic reviews clearly didn't look round. We spent five hours here and probably saw one third of the place! I'll try to remember everything there is, but I'll definitely forget lots of things.

There's the main railway line and stock as you'd expect. There's a museum. Several museums in fact! There's a 35 acre country park featuring the remains of old collieries, tramways, reservoirs, the Cromford Canal with its Butterley Tunnel and the abandoned village of Grumblethorpe. (And plenty of birdwatching and walking opportunities). There's model railways (lost count of those). There's a signal box you can visit. There's a church that's been taken from its former location and transported here (like many other things). There's the remains of several collieries. There's workshops. There's cafes. And in case that isn't enough to keep you occupied, there's a SECOND railway! This one is a narrow gauge light railway with an absolutely BEAUTIFUL 25 minute round trip for £3!

We're definitely going to come back, because this place is better than Didcot, which suffers from being located in a dull area with little to commend it.

With ticket prices much lower than you'll see elsewhere, this place is a 'must see'. Bring the family and enjoy yourselves - just remember to see it all because it's MUCH bigger than it...

We were careful to make sure we visited on a steam running day, as "pacers" don't really float our boat. And it was a special Victorian event which was absolutely fab! Stunningly beautiful, restored carriages which are truly magnificent and made our visit way more special. So.... regular readers may have reached the conclusion that I never give bad reviews where heritage railways are concerned. That is generally true and is partly because they all, whether large or small newly opened or pioneers of their kind are run by volunteers who give their all for the cause, which is a fabulous thing and should be lauded in all instances. That said, I can make some useful observations a la Geoff Marshall, which might be helpful. So here are my facts for the railway: Ticket: NOT traditional style cardboard ticket preferred by this reviewer. Magnetic Totems: only one available for Butterley, so they're missing revenue of £9 Stations: 2 Butterley and Swanwick Junction plus one halt at Hammersmith where you can alight and watch the run-round. Parking: At Butterley. Free. Fairly big, although some parking muppetry made it less than it could've been. Not sure about Swanwick Junction. Certainly not at Hammersmith. Toilets: Good at both stations, but a long walk from the platform at Butterley. If you're not so ambulant or just walk-shy or just short of time, my advice would be to go at...