The Edinburgh Christmas Market

This special festive steam hauled train using a Carnforth pool locomotive will run at speed both ways from Carlisle to Edinburgh and return. There will be time in Edinburgh to visit the sights, including the extensive Christmas Market located in Princes Street Gardens, before we return south.

Our seasonal journey will commence at the historic city of York, with its long association with railways, including the location of the National Railway Museum. Heading north away from York, the first part of our journey will be diesel hauled as we travel down the East Coast Main Line through Darlington, the centre of the Stockton & Darlington bicentenary celebrations for Rail 200. We will pause at Durham momentarily to pick up further passengers, before heading towards Tyneside and over the river Tyne to Newcastle, our final pick up point. 

Leaving Newcastle, we will reverse our direction of travel to head southwards and then westwards, diesel hauled, to join the scenic Tyne Valley line through Hexham to Carlisle. This historic line passes through some lush rolling countryside as we follow the course of Hadrian’s Wall which stretches 73 miles from Wallsend on the river Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. 

There will be a short break at Carlisle to attach our steam locomotive to the train for the onward run to Edinburgh. The route north will follow the old Caledonian Railway’s line through Lockerbie and Annandale towards the Lowther Hills. It is at Beattock where things start to get interesting as we prepare to tackle the notoriously steep 10 mile climb of Beattock Bank, graded almost continuously at 1 in 75, to the summit at 1016 ft above sea level. Beattock Summit has the distinction of being the highest point on the West Coast Main Line.

After passing over the summit, we descend all the way to Carstairs along the valley of the river Clyde. Here, we leave the line to Glasgow and take the Edinburgh line which has another steep climb for our steam locomotive to negotiate all the way to Cobbinshaw Loch. With the Pentland Hills in the distance, we descend through Midcalder and reach the outskirts of Edinburgh. At Haymarket, we run through two tunnels alongside Princes Street Gardens in the shadow of the castle and arrive in Edinburgh Waverley station early in the afternoon.

Time will be available here for passengers to visit the city and its famous Christmas Market, conveniently located in Princes Street Gardens, whilst our steam locomotive is serviced for the return journey back to Carlisle. Apart from its many shops and restaurants along Princes Street, there are many sights to see and visit, including the Palace of Holyrood, the Castle on the Royal Mile, Galleries and Museums and Princes Street Gardens.

We will return south from Edinburgh with our steam locomotive and follow our outward route steam hauled back to Carlisle. Highlight of the journey back to Carlisle will be the southbound climb to Beattock, graded at 1 in 99 on the last section to the summit. We will say farewell to our steam locomotive at Carlisle and return to Newcastle, Durham and York diesel hauled. 

Look out for Father Christmas and his Elves who will be visiting the train during the day and handing out presents to all children on board. If you have children with you on the trip, please let us know your child’s name and age when booking.

On Board Catering