Vintage Trains has announced that next month it will be running two steam-hauled trips through the East Midlands to York, with dining service options aboard authentic vintage carriages.

You can get a discount on both of these trips as a RailAdvent Plus Gold member. More information can be found by clicking here.

York is a medieval city that celebrates the festive season with award-winning markets and is also known for its cobbled streets, Gothic Minster, and 13th-century city walls.

Passengers will have five hours to explore York, which allows enough time to visit the city’s major attraction for railway enthusiasts, the National Railway Museum.

The Christmas White Rose rail tour will run only twice this year. It will depart from multiple stations across the Midlands, including Birmingham New Street, Leicester, Nuneaton, Derby, Widley Manor and East Midlands Parkway. Full details of stations and departure times are available from Vintage Trains.

• On Wednesday, 3 December, a Castle Class locomotive will haul the train from Birmingham and the East Midlands to York. The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 type steam locomotives, built between 1923 and 1950 and run on the Great Western Railway.
• On Wednesday, 10 December, the train will be hauled by 60163 ‘Tornado’. This will be the final mainline trip of the year for Tornado, the first mainline steam locomotive built in Britain since 1960, with its construction completed in 2008 by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. Tornado is a modern Pacific-type locomotive.

Passengers will have a choice of how they enjoy the experience:

• If they choose Pullman Dining, they will be served a full English breakfast and a four-course evening dinner at their seat in original Pullman cars.
• If they choose First Class Dining, they will be offered bacon rolls, pastries and afternoon tea, served at tables for four people in restored First Class coaches.
• Choosing the Tourist (non-dining) class will give them comfortable seating and access to the onboard buffet.

For anyone who’s been meaning to experience authentic steam travel, or looking for a Christmas day out that goes beyond the ordinary, this is the one.

Vintage Trains