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Exclusive Train Driving at Blaenavon

Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway

  • £ 495.00 £ 399.00

What's Included

  • 1:1 Diesel Locomotive driving experience
  • Welcome, introduction and safety briefing
  • Sessions operate on an exclusive basis with just you and your train driving instructor
  • Generally the Class 37 Fleet Number: D6916 (37216) Built in 1964 is used for this experience
  • Familiarisation session with the locomotive to show how it works and the operating of its controls
  • Drive the loco for 16 miles (two x journeys of Route 1 + Route 2)
  • The loco is a 'light engine' (no carriages) 
  • Guidance from an experienced train driving instructor
  • Allow approximately two hours for this experience
  • Complimentary premium gift packaging from Into The Blue

Route 1: Furnace Sidings station - Blaenavon High Level station - Coed Avon - Blaenavon High Level station - Furnace Sidings station - Whistle Inn halt - Furnace Sidings station

Route 2: Furnace Sidings station - Big Pit station - Furnace Sidings station - Whistle Inn halt - Furnace Sidings station - Big Pit station - Furnace Sidings station - Whistle Inn halt - Furnace Sidings station

What Can I Expect

Exclusive Blaenavon train drives just for you! These private experiences will see you drive a classic diesel-electric locomotive for 16 miles along this delightful Welsh heritage line on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

If you love the Class 37 this experience is for you. You get the very rare chance to benefit from one-to-one instruction on these impressive diesel-electrics. Your expert driver will explain all the controls of these powerful beasts and then you’ll set off from Furnace Sidings Station on your journeys for the day.

The Pontypool & Blaenavon Heritage Railway was created in 1983 to preserve and protect the Brynmawr to Pontypool line. As driver of the D6916, you’ll be heading up to Big Pit station (where the Big Pit Mining Museum is), before reversing back to Garn-yr Erw halt (The Whistle Inn). You’ll then take the Class 37 southwards non-stop through Furnace and Blaenavon High Level to the terminus at Coed Avon.

The return journey will test the power of the diesel-electric with a short gradient of 1:34, one of the steepest on any heritage railway, so you’ll hear that distinctive Class 37 working hard at this point!

What we love about this experience, which lasts around two hours, is the fact that it is exclusive to you. No sharing the driving duties, you will be at the helm of the impressive 1964 Class 37 locomotive for the duration, learning lots and experiencing just what being a British Rail train driver in the 1960s was like!

When Is It Available

  • Selected weekday and weekend dates throughout the year from September 2026
  • There will generally be 4 dates per month
  • Due to the popularity of this experience please book well in advance to avoid disappointment

Location

  • Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway
  • Situated in the UNESCO-listed Blaenavon Industrial Landscape on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales

Suitable For

  • Minimum age 18
  • Participants should be reasonably fit and in good health - fit enough to climb on and off the locomotive from ground level unaided

Anything Else

  • Old clothing that fully covers the arms and legs should be worn
  • Wear sturdy shoes or boots that protect the feet - trainers are not permitted
  • Please note that once your booking is confirmed, the provider's terms and conditions will apply
  • Ocassionally the Class 31 Fleet Number: ‘D5627’ (31203) Built in 1960 may be used for this experience
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