The town where I live has one tourist attraction. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, an authentic steam railway. This line was opened in 1867 and closed by British Railways in 1962. An action group of local people was formed in objection to this and along with other steam enthusiasts who were taking an interest, the Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society was formed. These volunteers took over the line and re-opened it in 1968, and it is still operated and maintained by volunteers today.

The Worth Valley Railway as it is more commonly known has appeared in various prime time television programmes including Last of the Summer Wine, Born and Bred, The Royal, Where the Heart Is, A Touch of Frost, and many others. It's next television appearance will be on BBC 2 on the 15th December, as an episode of the cooking programme Indian Food Made Easy has been filmed on it, also if you look closely at the walls of Roy's kitchen in Coronation Street, you will see Worth Valley Railway memorabilia adorning them.

Despite appearing in numerous television series over the years, it was the railway's roles in films that brought it to prominence, Yanks, and more famously the 1970 film The Railway Children.

As the name tells you, it's situated in the Worth Valley in West Yorkshire and runs between Keighley and Oxenhope in the heart of Bronte country, calling at four stations along the way, a journey of approximately 5 miles.

A round trip on the railway takes around 90-95 minutes and consists of the following stations.

Keighley, it's adjoined to the main train station, but the difference couldn't be more startling. The Worth Valley station is completely authentic 1950's in decor and appearance. Upon entering it's like going back in time, especially as the smell of the steam adds to the atmosphere.

Ingrow, a small authentic 1950's station where you can get off the train and visit the Museum of Rail Travel which is next to it.

Damems, Britains smallest station, again pure 1950's.

Oakworth, this is the station made famous in the film and is known as The Railway Children's Station.

Howarth, a lovely authentic station with a souvenir shop, picnic tables and you can also visit the locomotive works, or leave the station, follow the path behind it and you're at the bottom of Howarth's famous cobbled main street at the top of which is the world famous Bronte Parsonage Museum.

Oakworth, a genuine 1950's village station with a buffet and an immaculate picnic area.

A trip on this railway gives you a genuine experience of how train travel used to be in the days of steam. From entering the station to leaving at the end of you're visit, you're taken back in time. Every attention to detail is taken regarding authenticity at the stations. The trains and carriages are all perfectly restored to their original condition. You can just sit back, relax and enjoy a trip through the beautiful Bronte countryside, particularly once you pass Damems station, or if you're inclined to, have a locally brewed beer in the buffet car. If you've seen the Railway Children, you'll recognize the locations used in the film, particularly the Mytholmes tunnel, used for the landslide and paper chase scenes.

The railway is open all year round, daily in summer, but only weekends the rest of the time. Quite often special events and theme days are also held such as, Thomas the tank engine days, Santa steam specials, beer festival, jazz day, where music is played both on the trains and at the stations. Some upcoming dates planned for 2009 are,

Sunday 22nd March, Mothers Day Luncheon Train
Vintage Train Days, Sunday 3rd & Monday 4th May, Sunday 24th & Monday 25th May, Sunday 5th July, Sunday 2nd August
Saturday 16th May, 1940 / Wartime evening
Steam Gala, Friday 26th, Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June
Diesel Traction Weekend, Friday 5th, Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th June
Steam Gala - Friday 26th, Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June
Family Fun Weekend, Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September
Saturday 26th September, 1920s evening
Saturday 22nd August, 1960s evening
Beer & Music Gala, Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th October
Saturday 31st October, Victorian Evening

Fares

Adult day rover allowing unlimited travel £14
Family day rover £33
Adult full line return allowing one complete round trip £9.40
Family full Line Return £23.50
Children under 5 are free, children 5-15 are half fare.

If you're really into steam trains and think you might visit more than once, membership might be a better option as members get three, free day rover tickets a year, and half price travel at most other times. Life members receive free travel on all regular service trains.

Membership prices are
Adult, £17
Associate, available to any person living at the same address as an adult, life or senior member £10
Senior, 60+ £10
Junior, 5-15 £7.50
Family, two adults and up to three children £33



Life Membership
Adult, payable by 10 monthly instalments of £34, £340
Associate, available to any person living at the same address as an adult, life or senior member £200
Senior, 60+ £145
Senior Associate, available to any person living at the same address as an adult, life or
senior member £85


All stations are disabled friendly but the trains may cause difficulty with some of the older carriages so larger chairs can be transported in the guards van
There are toilets on the trains and at all the stations however Howarth has the only fully disabled accessible one.


The railway is well signposted throughout the district for road users, with bus stops immediately outside the station for public transport users. If you visit by train, simply leave the main station and enter the Worth Valley one and be transported back in time.

A lot more information including pictures can be found at http://www.kwvr.co.uk which is the internet site and which I acknowledge for providing some of the information in this review.