Ribble Steam Railway & Museum — Attraction in Preston

This is an incredible and excellent place to visit and makes for a marvellous and very memorable experience. The place itself is situated near to the old Preston Docks area and is very well signposted to get to. There are a variety of things to do at the place including train rides which run at various times that run at hourly interval throughout the day and also a museum where you can see a variety of steam and diesel locomotives trains. The train ride itself is a nice relaxing 35 minute ride taking you alongside the River Ribble and through the old Preston Docks area where you can enjoy fabulous views of the River Ribble itself and also take in the Boat Marina area and see the old Docks area and see how it is changed over time. Visitors can enjoy unlimited travel on their tickets throughout the day and the train times are at hourly intervals and these area 11:00hrs, 12:00hrs, 13:00hrs, 14:00hrs and 15:00hrs. The timetable can be subject to change so it is best to check the website before visiting with regards to updated train times. The train rides are run on a selected steam or diesel locomotive for that particular day so again check their site social media page on Facebook or Instagram or their main website before visiting. The steam trains that are used to conduct the train journey are amazing, wonderfully presented and in outstanding condition. The museum is also a fantastic and delightful aspect of this place and you can spend ages looking at the amazing steam, diesel and electric locomotive trains on display. The steam trains that you can see on display are 'Lucy', 'Alexander', 'Efficient' and 'Fonmon' and all of these steam trains are amazingly displayed and in fantastic condition and you can admire right close at how outstanding and stunning they are. There are information displays right next to the Steam Trains giving you an informative overview of their history and the railway lines they have worked on, which is very insightful and interesting. The diesel and electric locomotive trains on display are 'The Mighty Atom', 'Persil' & English Electric EE788 and again all of these trains are brilliantly displayed and in great condition and you can get a great glimpse of these right up close and there are informative information displays next each of the trains give you a great interesting overview of their history and the railway lines they have worked on. In the Museum there is also very interesting and informative display about the history of Preston Docks from its beginnings right through to its ending and also you can wonder into a former Royal Mail Carriage and get insight into how parcels and mail were transported around the rail network and there is an interesting display outside the Carriage to complement this, which is excellent. There is some other interesting railway memorabilia as you walk around such as sign of places from the local area and there is also interesting display about how train signals were used in the very early years of the railway lines existence. There is a cafe on site selling a great range of food and drink at reasonable prices and also a gift shop selling a nice range of souvenirs at reasonable prices. Overall this is a great and amazing place to visit and makes for a very memorable, relaxing and pleasant day out. Definitely well worth a visit...

'The Santa Express' - below par

Booked this some time ago for out 5 yr old twins thinking it would be a magical trip for them after seeing many good reviews - however, I cant honestly say that it met up to expectations. We dont have unrealistic expectations, and just ask that what we get is a fair reflection for the cost.

The trip was to take around 40 mins, with entertainment on board and a mince pie & port for the adults, and cookie and juice for the little ones. The main event is of course Father Christmas coming around and giving a gift the the children.

Once on the train the atmosphere was already good with the children all around in great spirits in anticipation of seeing the man himself, and for the first 10 minutes this continued to be the case, with a 2 man band playing Christmas songs and all singing along. Once they finished, Father Christmas came up, and the smiles of delight on the kids faces were brilliant!

So that was the first 15 minutes.

After this, there was still plenty of festive feeling, for a few minutes at least, but this is where it lost its spark sadly.

The train had been rumbling along at no great pace up to then but then just stopped, we were next to a busy road junction, with a retail outlet over the road.....and there we stayed........minutes past.......and then we started to crawl backwards slowly until.........we stopped.....some more road traffic views........and then crawled forwards again..........then back...then stopped....

so it went on, to the point we thought we had broken down.

it should be said that since the departure of the band, there was no music over any speakers, no toots of the stream engines whistle, no.....anything really. Our children and most of those around us had long since lost interest and were frankly bored, running up and down and annoying their parents by saying 'we're bored'!

We could have been sat anywhere really doing just this, there was no particular Wow! we're on a steam train feeling, but perhaps I'm affected by the crowded commute to work and back I do each day! We were just static with no great scenery to take in, unless you have a penchant for the contemporary retail park.

To be clear - the entertainment when it was there was great, father Christmas was brilliant, and the staff were lovely, this is more a case of stopping and starting and not particularly going anywhere, with kids getting bored - as they do - because there was nothing going on. For a fraction of the cost we could have gone to any number of Christmas parties within a couple of miles of home where there was much more to entertain the little ones. I think this is what was lacking after that first 10-15 minutes.

So, would I recommend? Sadly for this particular experience at the price required, I wouldn't go again. I'm sure at other times of the year, they have other rides that may provide more of a steam experience. I love steam trains, as do the kids, but I would want to find one that does actually give a better sense of being on one. I understand this track is around 3 miles long so I'm not expecting The Mallard to pull in for a full run, but I'm not convinced as to how much of those 3 miles we actually saw on the day we went.

Sorry I cant be...

We had an absolutely fantastic day at the museum. First off though at the end of our visit, I had left my car headlights on and flattened the battery. A lovely member of staff loaned us her car keys and left us with her car to try start it. Eventually it took a couple of the guys there pushing to get us going. After thanking the staff they asked me to leave them a good review. They needn't have bothered, I was going to anyway. On arrival it was clear the staff had thrown themselves into the spirit of things. The museum itself had been decorated throughout. They had gone to a lot of trouble. Clearly signposted and with the covid in mind, handgel was abundant and it felt like everyone was on board keeping things running smoothly. I can't understand some of the negative reviews on here. This isn't a corporate theme park, it's a labour of love and dedication and the volunteers are wonderfully dedicated. The museum, whilst small, has plenty of exhibits, information is abundant, the mail car was interesting in its own right. There was a little local history thrown in. The train ride was a lovely throwback. The carriages clean and looked after. Whilst not a long ride, it was a nice way to cap off a visit. A superb treat for the kids with great Halloween themeing. I wholeheartedly recommend people check this place out, and once again would like to extend my warmest thanks to the wonderful staff who came...