The Lappa Valley Railway has issued the timetables for its Grand Gala Weekend on Saturday, 13th, and Sunday, 14th June 2026.

The weekend is set to be one of the biggest celebrations in the railway’s history, which is based at Newlyn East near Newquay in Cornwall. For the first time, visiting steam locomotives will run on the 15-inch gauge Main Railway, with a total of five steam locomotives in action across the site, a record for the line.

Among the weekend visitors will be Mr. Hallworth, normally based at the Perrygrove Railway Adventure in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.

Another visiting locomotive from the Perrygrove Railway Adventure is Spirit of Adventure, which is the largest 15-inch gauge tank engine ever built by the Exmoor Steam Railway.

Working alongside the visiting locomotives will be the Lappa Valley’s own locomotives, including Zebedee, Muffin, Ellie, City of Truro, and Arthur.

Special events planned for the weekend include:

• Double-headed steam trains.
• Trains running in parallel and racing against each other.
• Special runs on Saturday, comparing the performances of Lappa Valley and visiting locomotives.
• A special non-stop evening service on Saturday to bring the day’s events to a close, featuring all five Lappa Valley’s steam locomotives running in tandem, and a special “Whistle-Up” finale at Benny Halt.
• A special one-off passenger service on Saturday, hauled by Little Arthur, the Lappa Valley’s Lister-built locomotive, which normally does not haul passenger trains.
• Regular services on-demand on the 7¼-inch gauge Lakeside Railway, hauled by visiting locomotive Kilgharrah.

The weekend will close with a spectacular Grand Finale on Sunday with the longest train of the year, for one last journey around the Main Railway using every available carriage. As a memorable end to the day, all steam locomotives will line up between the locomotive shed and coal pile, and will sound their whistles together.

It is hoped that the Duke of Cornwall, which was recently repainted into the striking livery of Cornwall Air Ambulance, will operate a limited number of services on the Newlyn Downs Branch Line.

Other attractions during the weekend include miniature traction engines on display, adding to the family fun that makes visits to Lappa Valley so special, with the admission ticket including unlimited rides on all railways, access to the indoor and outdoor play areas, adventure golf, and a boating lake.