Tickets going on sale for the largest gathering of railway locomotives in a generation

Over 50 historic locomotives and trains will gather in one place later this year to mark the 200th anniversary of the first passenger railway, and tickets to see them are going on sale.

Over three days in August, Alstom’s historic Litchurch Lane Site in Derby will open to the public for the first time in over 50 years — for an unprecedented gathering of railway locomotives. To give a teaser of what the weekend will be like, on Thursday, the depot gathered together some iconic locomotives to blow their whistles for the visitors.

There will be a lot more of that over the three day gathering.

During the preview, the Alstom-built 390016 train was also named ‘Railway 200’ and renumbered 390200. Later this year, this train will also attempt to break the UK rail speed record for a trip between London and Glasgow  set by an APT in December 1984.

The three-day Greatest Gathering forms part of the wider Railway 200 festivities, a year-long celebration marking the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) on 27 September 1825 – and a journey that gave birth to the modern railway.

The first locomotive to run on the S&DR – Locomotion No. 1 – was built by the Newcastle-based Robert Stephenson and Company. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build railway engines and later manufactured several of the first locomotives for other countries around the world. Through successive mergers, Robert Stephenson and Company became part of Alstom in 1989, giving the company a direct link to the dawn of the railways and making it the custodian of a unique legacy.

Alongside displays of historic and modern mainline locomotives, Britain’s biggest rail celebration will also feature rides along Derby’s test railway track and a variety of narrow-gauge trains will be in operation.

Elsewhere, layouts staged by some of the biggest names in model railways – including a section of Pete Waterman’s record-breaking Railnuts layout – will take centre stage in the Model Railway Village, while historians and industry leaders will take part in engaging talks and discussions in the Mobility Theatre.

Tickets are on sale from here.

Ticket sales were suspended after their website crashed — resumed on a new website on 5th Feb.

  • Adults: £30
  • Children: £15
  • Family (2A+2C): £65

Children under five go free.

Getting to Alstom Derby for Rail200

For Londoners visiting Derby, it’s about 1.5 hours by train from London St Pancras station, and you can walk to the Alstom site in about 15 minutes.

It will likely be very well signposted over the weekend or just follow the crowds.