Tickets are selling fast to this year's Meet Santa event!

Bring this kids to Meet Santa in his magical grotto and find out if they're on the naughty or nice list! All children meeting Santa will receive a special gift


Saturday 9th December
BEST AVAILABILITY

Sunday 10th December
BEST AVAILABILITY

Saturday 16th December
LIMITED TICKETS REMAINING

Sunday 17th December
FULY BOOKED

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Firthmoor Community Centre, Burnside Road, Darlington, DL1 4SU

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Various slots between 10am-4pm
🎟️ Ticket Information 🎟️
Tickets to meet Santa must be booked in advance and will also act as your entry to the other free activities

🎟️ Non members tickets: £8 per child
Enter N/A in the membership pass number box when booking

🎟️ Members tickets: £6 per child
quote your Head of Steam membership pass number and promo code Santa2023 at the checkout to receive the discount


Still want to enjoy some festive fun without meeting Santa? You can join in with the other festive activities for free - there'll be mini train rides, face painting and Christmas themed art & crafts too!

Grab your tickets here
Tickets
Firthmoor Community Centre has free parking. The venue is fully accessible and can be reached by Arriva Bus service 13A/13B

Refreshments will be available in the community centre café

See you there!
Thank you,
The Hopetown Darlington team

We are running the trains on Sunday 19th November at The Grange Community Centre at Hurworth.

We are running our engines this Sunday November 5th at our new station area "Hurworth Halt". This is providing the weather is kind to us.
We may not be using the "Azuma". This largely depends on whether we get some spare parts in time. We have been plagued with some intermittent failures for a few weeks now and some obvious suspect parts have been changed and cured the problem. However on further investigation the fault was elsewhere and we have had to order some new spares.
We do have some alternative trains to use and depending on attendance figures and weather, we may also have a steam engine available.
Some of our members are starting to prepare their engines for winter now which means emptying out and blowing down all of the water from the boiler and pipework and cleaning out the boiler tubes to prevent any frost from cracking the engines but we still have a lot of engines available to use.
Hope to see you all on Sunday.
Mick

We are running our ride-on electric and steam trains this Sunday at The Grange Community Centre at Hurworth from 10 until 12.30.

We will be running our trains this Sunday at The Grange Community Centre, Hurworth from 10 until 12.30

We are running our trains on Saturday 2nd September and Sunday 3rd September.
Saturday is in conjunction with the Hurworth Country Fair and we will be there from 10.30 until 4pm.
Sunday will be a normal running day and we will be there from 10 until 12.30.
We should have both electric and steam trains running.

We are running our trains at Hurworth on Sunday.

We are next running trains on Sunday 6th August at Hurworth. We will be running both steam and electric trains from 10am until 12.30.
We will also be running our portable track at Shildon "Locomotion" during August as well. We will be there, outside of the main engine shed from 11am until 4pm on the 2nd and 3rd August and again on 23rd and 24th August.

We are running our ride on Miniature trains this Sunday 16th July. We will be running both electric and steam trains.

Our next Sunday running at The Grange Community Centre at Hurworth is Sunday 18th June.

Our next running event is Sunday 4th June and we will be running both steam and electric trains.

Just a few dates for your diaries.
We are running our trains this Sunday 7th May at Hurworth.
We are there again on Sunday 14th May for the Classic car show.
On Sunday 21st May, we are splitting our forces and will be covering our normal 3rd Sunday running at Hurworth from 10 until 12.30
but we will also be at North Road Park in Darlington with our portable track for the Vintage vehicle Rally.
We are back at Hurworth for our normal Sunday running on
Sunday 4th June
Sunday 18th June
Sunday 2nd July.
Sunday 9th July is under 5's fun day
Sunday 16th is Sunday running

In August we will be running our trains as normal on Sunday 6th and Sunday 20th
In addition we will be at Shildon with our portable track on Wednesday 2nd August and Thursday 3rd August
and Wednesday 23rd August and Thursday 24th August.

We have a new station platform area installed now to remove potential tripping hazards from the uneven flagstones which were constantly being moved by tree roots. The area is now more wheelchair and stroller friendly.

Just a reminder that we are running our trains on this Sunday at Hurworth from 10 until 12.30.
At the moment, our station area is a big hole in the ground. Hopefully the concrete will get poured prior to Sunday but the weather is not being very kind.
Just be aware that we may have to modify our embarkation and dismounting from the trains on Sunday as our anti tipping mechanism will not be in use.
Please pay particular attention to our members instructions so that we can ensure your safety.
Thanking you in anticipation of your cooperation.

We are running our trains again on Sunday 16th April

Please be aware that when we run our trains on Sunday 2nd April, there may be a bit of building work taking place in the station area and this may entail some specific instructions to safely mount and dismount our trains. We are getting a new surface laid to remedy some potential tripping hazards. Please abide by our members instructions.
Of course, circumstances may change and the work may be delayed but we thought it best to give you advanced warning.

We are running our trains on Sunday 2nd April.

We are running our trains on Sunday 19th March

We are running our trains on Sunday 19th February

We will be running trains at The Grange Community Centre this Sunday 5th February from 10 until 12.30 provided the weather is good.
Hopefully, we will have a steam engine on the track.

If anyone is interested in joining our club then we are situated in the basement of The Grange Community Centre and will be there every Tuesday night from about 7pm. We have a meeting room which doubles as a library with an extensive range of model engineering magazines and drawings. We have a store room full of various useful materials for model building and we have a small but comprehensive workshop. Our workshop has 3 lathes, a grindstone, 2 milling machines, pedestal drills, electric saw, guillotine, rollers, in fact everything required to build a model engine. The only thing we don't do now is hot work due to insurance restrictions. Our members are only too pleased to pass on their accumulated knowledge to interested individuals and would be keen to assist people in the use of the workshop tools.

We are running our trains on Sunday 15th January, weather permitting.

We are running our engines this Sunday 18th December, weather permitting. We are not running on New Year's day so our next session will be on January 15th.

SDSME - South Durham Society of Model En

We are running our engines this Sunday 18th December, weather permitting. We are not running on New Year's day so our next session will be on January 15th.

We are always looking for new members to join our ranks. you don't need to have your own steam engine or any other model. As one of our member's you can tap into our amazing, accumulated knowledge and if you so wish, can be trained to use our small but comprehensive workshop to machine parts for any model that you may wish to make. You can also be trained up, initially to drive our electric trains and eventually our more challenging steam engines. As a member, you will benefit from free hydraulic and steam testing on any engines registered with the club and also take advantage of our comprehensive insurance policy. We do have a number of both electric and steam engines for members to use and we also have a tabletop garden railway close to our main track. We have single membership options as well as family options. If you are interested, pop down and talk to us on one of our running days or come down to The Grange on any Tuesday evening around 7pm in the basement.

We will not be running our trains on Sunday 1st January. Sorry for any disappointment but our drivers are only human and may have partaken in some celebratory alcohol the night before to welcome in the new year.

We are next running our engines on Sunday 18th December at The Grange Community Centre at Hurworth.

We had a bad turn out on our last Sunday running. The weather didn't look too good but it ended up being quite reasonable. I think we had more members present than riders on our trains.
We are there again this Sunday 4th December, so let's hope the weather stays good.
We will be running at a reduced capacity this Sunday because we have a few Xmas commitments, and we are also running at "Head of Steam" for "Santa at the Station". We will hopefully have an electric and a steam train on at Hurworth as a minimum.

The next Sunday running will also be similar on Sunday 18th December. We are quite used to running with fewer trains and members so we don't anticipate any major waiting times.
Thank you in advance for your participation.
Mick

We are next running our engines on Sunday 4th December from 10 until 12.30

We are running our engines on Sunday 20th November. 10 until 12.30

We are running our trains this Sunday. We will have 2 electrics available and hopefully a steam engine and if we have enough members present then we may even have the garden railway set up. This all depends on the weather of course.

We are next running our trains at Hurworth on Sunday 6th November and Sunday 20th November, weather permitting.

Just a quick reminder that we are running our engines this Sunday at Hurworth from 10 until 12.30. We hope to have a steam engine on the track as well as the electrics. Please be patient with us as the steam trains are not as reliable as the electrics and may cause a bit of a queue at times. However, people love the steam engines, so we are reluctant to leave them off the track.
One of our members has expressed an interest in getting our garden railway out, so as long as we have enough members present then we will do so.
Our next running day will be at North Road "Head of Steam" for their Halloween event on Sunday 23rd October. This is usually a well-attended event and will include a face painter, a treasure hunt and some other entertainment.

Just a quick reminder that we are running trains tomorrow, weather permitting. We anticipate having one or two electrics on the track and one or two steam trains. 10.00 until 12.30

We will be having the trains running at Hurworth Grange on Sunday 2nd October.
10 until 12.30

We are at North Road Station Museum (Head of Steam) today to help them celebrate the station's birthday.
£2 adults £1 children
Face painting, flea circus, treasure trail and our miniature ride on railway.

We are at "Head of Steam on Sunday With an Electric train"

Stephenson's Trials.

We had a good day yesterday at the Hurworth Country Fair.
Today we are hosting "The Stephenson's Efficiency trials".
We will have 13 miniature steam engines on the track throughout the day, hauling weights for 20 minutes with measured amounts of coal. All of the relevant figures are crunched on a laptop to determine the most efficient engine. The engines are measured against others in the same class.
For anyone who has an interest in model trains, this is an ideal photo opportunity to see 13 working models. This is a viewing event only and I apologise if some of members may not have the time to talk with you but we will be busy.

This is just a reminder that we will be running our trains on Saturday 17th September in conjunction with The Grange Country Fair and not on the Sunday. We will be there from about 10 until 4.

We do have an event on Sunday 18th September but it will be viewing only.
We are hosting an annual event called The Stephenson's efficiency trials. At the moment, we have 8 entrants but we are hopeful that the remaining 4 places will be filled. These will entail the running of steam trains that are rarely seen on our track or indeed have never been here.
The engines will be run on the track for 20 minutes with a measured amount of coal and a total weight decided by the driver. After this time, the weights etc. are input into a programme to determine the efficiency of the train and comparable trains are checked against each other to decide the most efficient train in each class.

Just a quick note to tell you that we are running trains this Sunday 4th September. (Weather permitting).

Also, North Road Station Museum (Head of Steam) are running 6 "Santa at the Station" events this year and they are starting to take bookings for these events. There are limited places, so get in early.
You will be booked in to one of the 6 days over 3 weekends in December (either Saturday or Sunday) and will be given a time slot for the kids to see Santa and get a present. The presents have been very good value for money in the past. Whilst you are there, then you can also experience face painting and rides on our "Traindeer" miniature railway.

We are running the trains on Sunday 4th September.

September is a busy month for us so if you want to ride or watch the trains then here's what's happening.
Sunday 4th September Sunday running at Hurworth.
Saturday 17th September Hurworth Country Fair
Sunday 18th September Stephenson's efficiency trials hosted by us this year. We will have about a dozen steam engines competing in 3 categories to determine the most efficient. This will be a visual event only and will be on all day.
Sunday 25th September North Road Station (Head of Steam) birthday event 10 until 4.

As always, we are keen to attract new members into our club, ideally over 16 but younger with a parent or guardian. We will train you to drive both miniature electric and steam trains and our members will be keen to assist you in building your own model in our reasonably well appointed workshop.

our next track running event will be Sunday 4th September from 10 until 12.30.

We have some guests from the Furness club coming to run their engines on our track today in preparation for a competitive efficiency trial in September. If you want to come and look at a couple of different engines for a change then pop down to our track at Hurworth Grange sometime after 2pm. Sorry but there will not be any rides.

We had a fairly good turn out on Sunday after a slow start. Thank you to all of our guests for supporting us.
We were asked if we could stay open a little longer to support the duck race and other activities. To be honest, we didn't know that this event was on so none of our members had planned for a delayed lunch but we rallied our troops and kept open for another few hours and decided to give the afternoon rides free of charge to support the local community.
This seemed to shock everyone!

We are at Hurworth Grange on Sunday, running steam and electric trains. 10 until 12.30.

We are at Shildon (Locomotion) today with our portable track, running electric and steam engines. This is a free event.

We are at Shildon "Locomotion" on Thursday and Friday with our portable track .Details are a bit sketchy at the moment but I believe the timing is from 11 until 4.
When I know more about this event I will post it on here.
We will be at Hurworth Grange on Sunday (Home track) running electric and steam engines.
Both of these venues are outside events and will be affected by any bad weather.

We are running the trains on Sunday 7th August at Hurworth Grange Community Centre. We will have both electrics available as well as at least one steam train.
Weather permitting of course.

Just a reminder that we are running our trains at both Hurworth and North Road (Head of Steam) this Sunday.
We will have a steam engine and electric on the track at Hurworth and will be there from 10 until 12.30.
We are at Head of Steam from 10 until 4 in support of their Paddington event and will be running an electric train, inside. Normal museum prices apply.

We get a few people using this site on the morning of our running days to ask if we are going ahead when the weather looks bad. I don't always pick these messages up as I check my mail first thing and then I may be on my way to Hurworth when these messages arrive. To be quite honest, I can't give a definitive answer on whether we will be running or not because I live in Stockton and believe it or not, there is sometimes a physical climate change along the road to Darlington. I have been travelling this road for many years and frequently it can be raining or snowing in Stockton and sunny in Darlington and visa versa.
We don't cancel our events willy, nilly. We will go to Hurworth and make a decision at that location.

Hi folks, we are running our trains at 2 different places on Sunday 17th July.
We will have an electric and hopefully a steam train at Hurworth.
We will also be running our portable track at North Road Station Museum (Head of Steam).
We will have one of our electric trains there at the "Paddington" event from 10 until 4.

We are running trains at Hurworth this Sunday 19th. We should have a steam train on the track.

We are running our trains at Hurworth on Sunday 19th June.

However, if you want to watch them on the track, we are running 2 special events on the next 2 Tuesdays (14th and 21st) purely for the local Rainbows, Brownies, Squirrels, Cubs and Beavers, weather permitting.