The Leighton Buzzard Railway has announced that a special train will run this July to commemorate 50 years of steam at the narrow gauge railway.

Saturday 29th June 1968 saw the first steam train on the line run, the train was operated by vertical boiler locomotive, Chaloner.

50 years later, steam locomotive Chaloner will haul a public train on her own for the first time in more than 30 years at the Leighton Buzzard Railway on Saturday 1st July 2018.

The special train will depart from Page’s Park at 13:30 and will return at 14:50. This train is available for pre-booked ticket holders ONLY, with ticket fares being £12 for adults, £10.50 for over 60s and £7.20 for under 18s.

Booking is available at the Leighton Buzzard Railway website, numbers are limited due to the pulling power of this little locomotive.

Before hauling this special train, passengers will be able to have a free footplate ride on Chaloner in Page’s Park Station Limits.

This is a truly special event, one of which is unlikely to ever be repeated.

What did the officials say?

Honorary Vice President, Alf Fisher, who brought Chaloner to the railway in 1968, having paid just £21, said:

“I am excited about this historic occasion. She was originally in such worn-out condition that she could only just pull herself along with one coach and sometimes you wondered if she would ever get back (and a couple of times she didn’t). Now her performance is totally unrecognisable, and this is an unmissable opportunity.”

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