A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) in the history of rail transport, but mainly serve tourism or rail enthusiasts and do not derive significant income from hauling freight or other purposes.
Definition The British Office of Rail and Road defines heritage railways as follows:...'lines of local interest', museum railways or tourist railways that have retained or assumed the character and appearance and operating practices of railways of former times. Several lines that operate in isolation provide genuine transport facilities, providing community links. Most lines constitute tourist or educational attractions in their own right. Much of the rolling stock and other equipment used on these systems is original and is of historic value in its own right. Many systems aim to replicate both the look and operating practices of historic former railways companies.
Infrastructure
Heritage railway lines have historic rail infrastructure which has been substituted (or made obsolete) in modern rail systems. Historical installations, such as hand-operated points, water cranes, and rails fastened with hand-hammered rail spikes, are characteristic features of heritage lines. Unlike tourist railways, which primarily carry tourists and have modern installations and vehicles, heritage-line infrastructure creates views and soundscapes of the past in operation.
Operation Due to a lack of modern technology or the desire for historical accuracy, railway operations can be handled with traditional practices such as the use of tokens. Heritage infrastructure and operations often require the assignment of roles, based on historical occupations, to the railway staff. Some, or all, staff and volunteers, including station masters and signalmen, sometimes wearing period-appropriate attire, can be seen on some heritage railways. Most heritage railways use heritage rolling stock, although modern rail vehicles can be used to showcase railway scenes with historical-line infrastructure.
Cost While some heritage railways are profitable tourist attractions, many are not-for-profit entities; some of the latter depend on enthusiastic volunteers for upkeep and operations to supplement revenue from traffic and visitors. Still other heritage railways offer a viable public-transit option, and can maintain operations with revenue from regular riders or government subsidies.
Development Children's railways
Children's railways are extracurricular educational institutions where children and teenagers learn about railway work; they are often functional, passenger-carrying narrow-gauge rail lines. The railways developed in the USSR during the Soviet era. Many were called "Pioneer railways", after the youth organisation of that name. The first children's railway opened in Moscow in 1932 and, at the breakup of the USSR, 52 children's railways existed in the country. Although the fall of communist governments has led to the closure of some, preserved children's railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states and Eastern European countries.
Many children's railways were built on parkland in urban areas. Unlike many industrial areas typically served by a narrow-gauge railway, parks were free of redevelopment. Child volunteers and socialist fiscal policy enabled the existence of many of these railways. Children's railways which still carry traffic have often retained their original infrastructure and rolling stock, including vintage steam locomotives; some have acquired heritage vehicles from other railways.
Examples of children's railways with steam locomotives include the Dresden Park Railway in Germany; the Gyermekvasút in Budapest; the Park Railway Maltanka in Poznań; the Košice Children's Railway in Slovakia, and the gauge steam railway on the grounds of St Nicholas' School in Merstham, Surrey, which the children help operate with assistance from the East Surrey 16mm Group and other volunteers.
Mountain railways
Creating passages for trains up steep hills and through mountain regions offers many obstacles which call for technical solutions. Steep grade railway technologies and extensive tunneling may be employed. The use of narrow gauge allows tighter curves in the track, and offers a smaller structure gauge and tunnel size. At high altitudes, construction and logistical difficulties, limited urban development and demand for transport and special rolling-stock requirements have left many mountain railways unmodernized. The engineering feats of past railway builders and views of pristine mountain scenes have made many railways in mountainous areas profitable tourist attractions.
Pit railways Pit railways have been in operation in underground mines all over the world. Small rail vehicles transport ore, waste rock, and workers through narrow tunnels. Sometimes trains were the sole mode of transport in the passages between the work sites and the mine entrance. The railway's loading gauge often dictated the cross-section of passages to be dug. At many mining sites, pit railways have been abandoned due to mine closure or adoption of new transportation equipment. Some show mines have a vintage pit railway and offer mantrip rides into the mine.
Underground railways The Metro 1 (officially the Millennium Underground Railway or M1), built from 1894 to 1896, is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro system and the second-oldest underground railway in the world.Kogan Page: Europe Review 2003/2004, fifth edition, Wolden Publishing Ltd, 2003, page 174 The M1 underwent major reconstruction during the 1980s and 1990s, and Line 1 now serves eight original stations whose original appearance has been preserved. In 2002, the line was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the Deák Ferenc Square concourse's Millennium Underground Museum, many other artifacts of the metro's early history may be seen.
Heritage tramways
By country
The first heritage railway to be rescued and run entirely by volunteers was the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. This narrow-gauge line, taken over by a group of enthusiasts in 1950, was the beginning of the preservation movement worldwide.
Argentina
La Trochita (officially Viejo Expreso Patagónico, the Old Patagonian Express) was declared a National Historic Monument by the Government of Argentina in 1999.'El Kavanagh, entre los protegidos' , Clarín, 1999-04-23 (Spanish) Trains on the Patagonian narrow-gauge railway use steam locomotives. The railway runs through the foothills of the Andes between Esquel and El Maitén in Chubut Province and Ingeniero Jacobacci in Río Negro Province.
In southern Argentina, the Train of the End of the World to the Tierra del Fuego National Park is considered the world's southernmost functioning railway. Heritage railway operations started in 1994, after restoration of the old (narrow-gauge) steam railway.
In Salta Province in northeastern Argentina, the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds) runs along of track in what is one of the highest railways in the world. The line has 29 bridges, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, two spirals and two zigzags, and its highest point is above sea level.
In the Misiones Province, more precisely in the Iguazú National Park, is the Ecological Train of the Forest. With a speed below 20 km per hour to avoid interfering with wildlife and the formations are propelled to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a non-polluting fuel.
The Villa Elisa Historic Train (operated by Ferroclub Central Entrerriano) runs steam trains between the cities of Villa Elisa and Caseros in Entre Ríos Province, covering Tren turístico de Villa Elisa on Girasol Hostería in 120 minutes."15 trenes turísticos de la Argentina", Clarín, 24 May 2015
Australia
The world's second preserved railway, and the first outside the United Kingdom, was Australia's Puffing Billy Railway. This railway operates on of track, with much of its original rolling stock built as early as 1898. Just about over half of Australia's heritage lines are operated by narrow gauge tank engines, much like the narrow gauge lines of the United Kingdom.
Austria The Höllental Railway is a , narrow-gauge (Bosnian gauge) railway, operating in Lower Austria. It runs on summer weekends, connecting Reichenau an der Rax to the nearby Höllental.
Belgium Flanders, Belgium's northern Dutch-speaking region, has the Dendermonde–Puurs Steam Railway; whereas Wallonia, with its strong history of 19th century heavy industries, has the Chemin de fer à vapeur des Trois Vallées and PFT operates the Chemin de Fer du Bocq.
Canada Railways
Tramways
Heritage streetcar lines: Downtown Historic Railway, in Vancouver, B.C. Replaced temporarily by the Olympic Line during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, abandoned in 2012. Nelson Electric Tramway, in Nelson, B.C.: two streetcars – Car 400 (formerly BCER, owned by the Royal BC Museum, operational since 1999) and Car 23 (operational since 1992) operate on a 1.2 km route from City wharf to Lakeside Park. High Level Bridge Streetcar, in Edmonton, Alberta. Whitehorse trolley, in Whitehorse, Yukon. Closed in 2019, re-opened in 2024. Museums with operational heritage streetcar lines: Halton County Radial Railway, in Rockwood, Ontario Canadian Railway Museum, in Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec Heritage Park Historical Village, in Calgary, Alberta Fort Edmonton Park in Edmonton, Alberta, operated by the Edmonton Radial Railway society along with the High Level Bridge Streetcar.
Finland
On the Finnish state-owned rail network, the section between Olli and Porvoo is a dedicated museum line. In southern Finland, it is the only line with many structural details abandoned by the rest of the network which regularly carries passenger traffic. Wooden sleepers, gravel ballast and low rail weight with no overhead catenary make it uniquely historical. Along the line, the Hinthaara railway station and the Porvoo railway station area are included in the National Board of Antiquities' inventory of cultural environments of national significance in Finland. Also on the list is scenery in the Porvoonjoki Valley, through which the line passes.
The Jokioinen Museum Railway is a stretch of preserved narrow-gauge railway between Humppila and Jokioinen. Nykarleby Järnväg is a stretch of rebuilt narrow-gauge railway on the bank of the old Kovjoki–Nykarleby line.
Germany
The is a spur line of the Prussian Eastern Railway, located in the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park in Brandenburg. It was originally constructed in 1897 as a narrow-gauge railway, with a gauge of , connecting Buckow to the Müncheberg (Mark) station. This line was electrified and changed to standard gauge in 1930. It has operated as a heritage railway since 2002.
India
The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of India. The term mainly includes the narrow-gauge and metre-gauge railways in these regions but may also include some broad-gauge railways.
Of the Mountain railways of India, the Darjeeling Himalayan, Nilgiri Mountain and Kalka–Shimla Railways have been collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To meet World Heritage criteria, the sites must retain some of their traditional infrastructure and culture.
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is also the only rack and pinion railway in India. The Matheran Hill Railway, along with the Kangra Valley Railway are preserved narrow gauge railways under consideration for UNESCO status. Some scenic routes have been preserved as heritage railways. Here normal services have stopped, only tourist heritage trains are operated. Examples of these are the Patalpani–Kalakund Heritage Train and the Rajasthan Valley Queen Heritage train which runs from Marwar Junction to Khamlighat.
Indonesia