Railway Blogs

Work progresses steadily on the installation and rebuild of EVA.
Several head scratching moments have occurred as the new boiler is not identical to the original and some minor fettling has had to take place to get parts to fit.
Boiler now installed in frames and the smoke box and chimney are also back on the loco.
She is starting to look more like an engine than a lot of bits.

If you are interested in this kind of project why not join us on a Monday 10am to 16.00 hrs or a Tuesday night 18.30 to 21.30.

Ian Samson
Company Secretary
Strathaven Model Society Ltd.

The Heat is On !

The wee train train will operate a school holiday special on Wednesday 30th of June 12-4.30pm approx.
All the usual Covid rules in place (track and trace) donation bucket no tickets issued and sanitising of carriages after each run.
We hope you can get along and support the wee train and perhaps buy a badge for £1.00
“Strathaven Miniature Railway – now the Oldest in Scotland”

We will be running on both days this weekend 26th and 27th of June.
The Sunday will have a restricted service with only one train operating as we have a limited amount of volunteers available for both days.
On Saturday both locomotives will be in service.
On both days we will be providing a socially distanced ride around the park.
All carriages will be sanitised after each journey and a donation bucket is in use instead of ticket sales

Looking forward to seeing new and regular customers over the weekend

The Wee Train will operate on Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of June (Fathers Day) from 12 until 4.30pm.

This will be the first weekend this year that we have enough volunteers to run the railway on both days.

We continue to comply with Covid 19 rules and ask customers to keep their 2 meter 2m distance in the queue, while we sanitise the carriages after each journey. Donation bucket in use rather than selling tickets

Bring the dads and grandads along and treat them to a ride on the wee train

We’ll see you on the platform

Strathaven Miniature Railway will operate over the next two Saturdays – 5th and 12th of June – good weather dependant – with running commencing at Noon till 16.30 on both days.

Usual Covid rules will apply, cleaning of carriages and keeping your distance in the queue.
Our donation bucket is being used instead of ticket sales.

Thank you to all who have supported us during the six running days we had in May, much appreciated by all at the Wee Train.

Strathaven miniature railway will operate over the following two days of the Bank holiday –
Saturday the 29th from 12 noon till 16.30 hrs. and
Monday the 31st from 12.30 to 16.30 hrs.
Please be aware that social distancing is still required when queuing and that we are cleaning the carriages after each run which might add a little bit of time to your wait.
Please use our donation box as no tickets are being sold at present.
From the wee train.

The weather report indicates that the best day this weekend for the miniature railway to run will be Saturday the 22nd of May from 12 noon to 16.30 🙂 

Sunday’s weather forecast indicates clearly that it will not be a good day to operate the railway 😦 

Please be patient when you queue as we go through our cleaning regime with all trains to keep everyone safe.

A donation bucket will be available at the gate instead of tickets being sold,
This assists us keep safe distancing for all.
Wherever possible please wear a mask in the queue as customers bunch up at this time.
Hopefully we will all have a good day on Saturday. 

HERE WE COME in 2021
Our first running day will be Saturday the 1st May and then again on Monday 3rd of May from 1pm until 4.30pm (weather permitting)
Our volunteers are looking forward to welcoming you back to the track and our trains at the weekend.
As with the few days that we ran last year, Social distancing will be implemented in the queue and on all of the trains .
Please be patient as this will increase waiting times slightly as we clean down each carriage after each run. Track and Trace details will also be taken as per the Scot.Gov. guidelines.
We are all looking forward to Saturday and to seeing all our regular and new customers enjoying a ride on Scotland’s Oldest Miniature Railway .
We will also have a souvenir badge on sale celebrating this milestone in the club’s history.
Tickets and badges are £1 each with CASH ONLY please.

 Scotland’s oldest miniature railway, is now in Strathaven Park!

We are now the oldest continuously operated track with our first running day on the 14th of May 1949 (72 years). We replace Kerr’s Railway in Arbroath, who closed last year after 82 years, as the oldest track in Scotland. We also still have the original locomotive built by David Scott and Gavin Hamilton. This Loco being our 2-6-0 Mogul (Margaret), which has been rebuilt twice in her lifetime by members of the Strathaven Model Society Ltd who operate the railway in the park. She is mainly on display but can be seen in steam on special occasions throughout the year.

Looking forward to seeing all our old friends at the park from the 1st of May which should be our first running day for 2021.

Social distancing rules will still apply as previously used last year.

As always, thank you for your continued support