Railway Touring Company

27th May - South Devon ExplorerWhat a fantastic day, hauled down to Plymouth by Bahamas. We went first class - the staff and bacon sandwiches were amazing. Special thanks to Stef, Lesley and Gizzia for making our day so wonderful. We had with us our blind friend and his Guide Dog - nothing was too much trouble for them. Thank you for a great day.

Steam and Christmas Markets in Germany 30/11 - 08/12/2023After many years of day trips with RTC, 3 Great Britain trips (myself) and a Scottish Highlander Holiday we embarked on the Steam and Christmas Markets in Germany tour recently. The mix of Picturesque Rail travel, Steam Railways visits, great Christmas Markets and free time to explore worked very well for us both. Relaxing views from the trains were a lot better than what you miss flying, albeit it takes a bit longer. Taking manageable cases also helps when changing trains en route and Taxis helped for our journey to/from the Bonn Hotel. The Maritim Hotel a short tram (short walk/frequent service) ride south of Bonn is a big quality Hotel with spacious rooms and a large Breakfast choice.The three Heritage Railways (2 short, one long up to levels of Snow) had bags of Character and were very welcoming with hot drinks, Gluwein and Cakes. Run pasts, shunting, ‘fake’ arrivals and shed visits were all arranged for Photographers. We also found the Christmas Markets so very atmospheric, loved by locals and visitors alike. The cruises on the Rhine and Main were very enjoyable with seasonal snacks, drinks and Music.In our second location the Railway themed Altora Hotel we understood was new to RTC, smaller but meant our group had its room for Dining. To reach it we had a Luxury spacious coach operated by an established tour operator. (Brochures in the seat backs) We didn’t expect this Hotel to be the same as the previous one being smaller and further East but generally we had no real complaints. In fact my wife who doesn’t like meat dishes found all she was offered was very tasty. The railway in the dining room is an attraction itself and you can see Steam pass just across the road, on movements from the station and sheds which are about 15 minutes’ walk away. It’s also a similar walk in the opposite direction to the town centre with a good and less crowded Christmas Market than larger cities. It has a large variety of smaller shops and mini trains to take you up to the Castle which has wonderful views. The rides up to the Brocken summit revealed a Winter Wonderland behind impressive powerful Locomotives, memorable on both daysThe Journey home was changed due to a German train drivers strike but RTC pulled out all the stops and Leaving Wernigerode at 7.00am our Luxury coach got us all the way to Liege in Belgium (around 7.5 hours incl stops) instead of Hannover station around 2 hours. From there we got a train to Brussels Midi with plenty of time before our booked Eurostar to London.Our Tour Manager Ian Stanley was very helpful plus knowledgeable throughout aided for a few days with important planning from Andrew Thompson too

Fantastic enjoyed every moment of the tran ride . Food was delicious every bit of it. Breakfast n dinner was delicious to. Staff worked wonders. Stewards very helpful n kept us informed all the way. Thank for a wonderful day out.

Me and my partner travelled on premier dining on the Cheshireman behind the flying Scotsman on June 10th. Despite being riddled with delays due to external factors. Everything ran as smoothly as it can. Stewards were incredibly helpful and the Gravy Train Catering provided the food onboard and we could not fault it. My only caveat would be the heat which again is an external factor. Overall incredible experience and would be something we’d be interested in doing again. Worth every penny.

Excellent trip from York to Carlisle being hauled by the magnificent Flying Scotsman in its centenary year 2023. The food in premier dining was very good and the staff from The Gravy Train company serving the food and drinks were very friendly and efficient. It was a fabulous day out and a dream come true to travel by a world famous train. Thank you.

A fantastic trip to York in first class for our ten year wedding anniversary! We were superbly taken care of by friendly, attentive staff who made us feel extra special! A wonderful experience made even more spectacular by a beautiful engine, Duchess of Sutherland. Can't wait to go on another journey with them in the future!

I had the privilege of travelling on The Railway Touring Company's Stratford Flyer, pulled by 46115 Scots Guardsman on 11/03/23 with my girlfriend and it was amazing.We travelled First Class, mighty expensive but an unforgettable experience. From the very start, seeing 'A Private Charter' on the departures board at Manchester Victoria certainly added to that excitement to the journey. Everyone on board was great, our main drinks steward was Jamie and he was lovely. Our bacon baps on the morning service were out of this world, the pastries afterwards were equally as delicious. We were never left waiting to ask for a drink, myself and my girlfriend were both very well looked after on board.We had a generous amount of time in Stratford-upon-Avon, enough to have a nice meal and see some sights. Upon being seated for our return journey we were greeted to our table with sandwiches and a scone with butter & jams. These were great and since they were cold we could have them at any point we wanted on the return trip.We had a slight alteration to our itinerary in that we would be stopping at a different station than planned for a long water stop, this was well communicated by staff on board and we were kept in the loop with them answering any questions we had. Whilst at our long water stop we were lucky enough to be allowed to step onto the footplate too! Before long we were back in Manchester with immovable smiles on our face.Many thanks to The Railway Touring Company and all staff involved, we had an amazing time, it certainly beats a Northern service. Tickets across all classes of travel are expensive but you're paying to keep a steam train on the main line, paying the staff that make these days out possible and paying those behind the scenes making sure everything runs on time! I fully recommend booking a steam train trip with The Railway Touring Company and I hope to be able to do just that again soon.

On Sunday 30th July, we went on the Royal Duchy trip from Reading to Par, we got bused to Fowey, perfect day out, all staff were brilliant looked after us from when we joined until when we departed, the food was really tasty, seating very comfortable, good drinks choice , made great memories for the week of our 25th wedding anniversary, great team on board, highly recommend