Introduction

Whether your interest is to fulfill a lifelong ambition to take the controls of a steam railway locomotive, celebrate a birthday or anniversary or to give a special present to a partner or friend, our steam firing and driving courses offer an unforgettable experience. Just imagine being at the controls of a powerful steam engine pulling a rake of coaches along our railway which we have built on the track bed of the former Great Western Railway main line from Birmingham to the West Country and South Wales. Our line runs from Toddington near Evesham to Cheltenham Race Course Station, a distance of nearly 10 miles. You will pass through the 693 yard long Greet Tunnel, the second longest on a preserved railway. The bore of the tunnel is curved so that in the middle neither entrance can be seen nor is there any natural light. You will therefore find out what it was like to be on the footplate after dark and marvel that crews used to (and still do) operate their trains with so little illumination.

If you would like a sneak preview of the controls of a steam locomotive, click here or on the picture of the footplate to the right to visit our 'virtual footplate'. Simply hover your cursor over the various controls and a description and explanation will appear. There is plenty to discover - so make sure you explore everything, including the tea can!

Course Details

The official start time for the course is at 09:15, though you are welcome to arrive at any time after 08:00 and witness and possibly get involved in the preparation of the engine. A cooked breakfast will be available prior to the Course and a packed lunch will be given to each Participant.

Please note that these courses operate on days which are otherwise non-operational so no facilities exist for family and friends. Though the coaches that we will be pulling will have abundant empty seats, the Railway Inspectorate does not permit us to carry any passengers other than course participants and railway members assisting with the conduct of the course . There will normally be six participants for the course and the day will start with a briefing about the day's events.

At about 10:30 the participants will join the train in the platform at Toddington. The first two participants will join the footplate to be briefed and then undertake the role of driver and fireman respectively under the supervision of the two instructors. Two return trips will then be undertaken to Cheltenham Race Course Station. A stop will be made at each station and two other participants will then take over. In this way you will enjoy four sessions on the footplate, one in each direction as driver and the same acting as fireman. You will therefore be on the footplate for a total of about 12 miles.

You will also be able to spend some time with the guard who will explain his role and you will be able visit a signal box and discover how trains are controlled. You will discover that this duty in the early days of the railways was originally undertaken by police constables and that even today the signalman if often referred to as "the bobby".

Throughout the day a knowledgeable railway member will accompany participants riding in the train to assist and to answer questions.

The day will end at about 16:00, back at Toddington, when the participants will be presented with certificates.

For a first-hand account of a participant's experiences on a Firing & Driving course, click here (GWSR plc can accept no responsibility for the content or availability of external sites).

Prerequisites

Please note that to take part in these courses participants must be over 18 years of age and be reasonably fit and agile with normal intellectual abilities and reasonable hearing and sight (glasses are acceptable). They must not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and need to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. You will find that the footplate can be hot and dirty and time spent there can be arduous. 'T' shirt, shorts and trainers are definitely not acceptable. Overalls or boiler suit are preferable but in all cases clothing made from cotton should be chosen if possible. Man-made fibres can melt if you make contact with any of the boiler fittings. Stout shoes and boots are needed with safety boots being preferable. A pair of gloves (Canadian rigger) will be needed when firing and handling controls. Please note that this is not exclusively a male pursuit. Ladies are equally welcome.

Fees and Booking

We are now pleased to be able to announce the dates for the 2010 Firing and Driving courses. See below for booking details.

16th April Fully booked
7th May Fully booked
21st May Fully booked
18th June Fully booked
2nd July Fully booked
16th July Fully booked
3rd  September Fully booked
10th September
8th October
22nd October

The cost of the course is £325 per participant.

The next step is to complete the booking form and return it to us. You can download the booking form by clicking here (this is a PDF file). If you are intending to give this as a surprise present, please take a guess as to which dates will be preferred and let us have the completed form with a covering letter.  We will send a confirmation that will allow the recipient to contact us directly after receiving your present to change the date, subject to availability, without incurring an administration charge.

Please note that we cannot accept bookings that specify any particular locomotive. The engine to be used depends on the maintenance needs of our operational locos and this can change at very short notice.

Although the Railway Inspectorate do not allow us to carry passengers, there are plenty of other Cotswold attractions available for friends and family. If they wish, they can also photograph the train at any of our Stations, though they must keep outside the boundary fence if they wish to take photographs elsewhere along our line. They can also meet up with you at Toddington for the lunchtime stop.

For further details please contact the Steam Firing & Driving Course Administrator by post at The Railway Station, Toddington, Cheltenham, GL54 5DT , by phone on 01242 621405 between the hours of 10.00 & 2.00pm, or by email to enquiries@gwsr.com.