Charter a Train

We make chartering your own train an easy and straightforward operation at Railway for Hire. We will work with you to cater for your occasion, whether it is for a long or short ride on one of our trains, a school visit, team building exercise, birthday celebration, wedding, special or poignant occasion. We have many different options to suit all tastes and budgets, and your trains can be hauled on our 6 mile railway using a steam engine, diesel engine or both!

Our wide range within our rolling stock fleet mean your guests can be seated within one or several “open saloon” coaches, or alternatively within compartments holding 6-8 people each, ideal for smaller parties or break-out meetings.

You can hire a train or individual coach on days and evenings we are open to the public, or for the ultimate in privacy you can have your very own train chartered to operate on another date at times to suit your exact requirements, giving greater flexibility and the opportunity to use and see more of our “train set” to make a really special event. Our trains operate between painstakingly restored period stations along our private railway in Essex, within a few minutes drive of the M25, M11 and A12.

Our team will work with you, from initial enquiry through the planning and implementation to ensure that your day goes smoothly, is tailored to your exact requirements, with you and your guests truly letting the “train take the strain” to make a very special and memorable occasion.

We also have access to a fleet of heritage buses, both double (56-64 seats) and single deck (36 seats), which we can integrate into your event, to pick up your guests from Epping Underground station (Central Line), Shenfield (TFL Rail/National Rail) or Chelmsford stations (National Rail), or another location(s). This enables a smooth collection and arrival, avoiding the hassles of parking or arranging lifts and meaning you can relax and concentrate on the more important aspects of the day.

We can work with a number of caterers to provide refreshments either on the train, or provide lighter refreshments within our static first-class coach (which can seat 30). We can decorate the interior of the train and even have a special headboard made up specially to go on the front of the locomotive with your special message, which can provide a lasting memento of the day or auction/raffle gift. Email us at groupbookings@eorailway.co.uk for more information.

CASE STUDY – TAILORED ENGLISH HERITAGE SCHOOL’S VISIT FOR A 1940’S AWARD WINNING EXPERIENCE

We have played host to a English Heritage 1940’s Schools Evacuation exercise. We were pleased to receive a Heritage Partner Award given by English Heritage and Department for Education for our efforts in this event.  This enabled pupils to learn first-hand about the evacuations undertaken during World War II, combining English Heritage’s expertise in interpretation and our heritage trains and buses this made for a truly memorable day for all the pupils and teachers as captured by this Department for Education video.