Here's the lowdown on all that's happening on your favourite heritage railway over the Christmas period. Whether you jut fancy a mince pie in the buffet, if diesel power sets your spine tingling or it flat-out action with steam wherever you look, you can find it here!

Christmas Day: No trains running, but we wish you a very happy Christmas as you explore this website and decide on which days you're going to visit the railway. Because visit it you will - you can't resist, can you!

Boxing Day: Blue timetable services are running - the first three return trips from Toddington being steam hauled, the final one diesel. You can enjoy one of the GWR's specially-made and widely-acclaimed mince pies during your journey!

Sunday 27^th December: Diesel Day! All available diesel locomotives will be working today. You can see the working timetable here which shows the locomotives allocated to each specific service. This is a real gift for diesel enthusiasts: the GWR has one of the finest fleets of main-line diesel locomotives in the UK and this is the place to enjoy them.

Locomotives in operation* are:

• Class 20: D8137
• Class 24: 24081
• Class 37: 37215 and visiting 37248, in West Coast maroon livery
• Class 47: 47105 and 47376
• Class 08: D4157 (08927) and visiting 08683

A packed timetable will be worked, being kicked off at 09.55 by the prospect of double-headed classes 24 and 47 from Toddington, running non-stop to Cheltenham. There's further double-heading and top-and tailing while the two class 08 shunters will be sandwiching brake vans for rides within the confines of Toddington station.

Lineside passes are available, and if you have an annual one this might just be the emphasis you need to renew yours for the coming year. Please note that only 47105 has an operating steam heat boiler (all of the GWR's coaches are steam heated) so dress up warmly! If you're after warm refreshments, try the chocolate & cream RBR…

Monday 28^th December: Blue timetable services are running - the first three return trips from Toddington being steam hauled, the final one diesel.

Tuesday & Wednesday, 29^th & 30^th December: Christmas Cracker This really is the antidote to cold turkey. A really steamy weekend, with all available locomotives in operation and your last chance this year to enjoy the railway's main line steam power at its best. The locomotives were all built at the Great Western Railway's celebrated Swindon works and span half a century of steam locomotive construction - from the National Railway Museum's 1903-built City of Truro to Black Prince, one of the last steam locomotives built by British Railways in 1959 and now owned by the celebrated artist and wildlife conservationist David Shepherd.

Locomotives in operation* are, in order of age:

• GWR City class 4-4-0 no. 3440 City of Truro , built 1904
• GWR 56xx class 'Taffy Tank' 0-6-2T no. 5619, built 1924
• GWR 4575 class 'small Prairie' 2-6-2T no. 5542, built 1928
• BR (W) Modified Hall class 4-6-0 no. 7903 Foremarke Hall, built 1949
• BR Standard 9F class 2-10-0 no. 92203 Black Prince, built 1959

Once again, there is a cracking variety of trains with the first departure from Toddington at 09.45, a 10-mile non-stop run to Cheltenham one of the longest non-stop journeys on a UK heritage railway. This will feature City of Truro and 5619. After that a range of services and locomotives work through to Cheltenham with a local service between Toddington and Winchcombe.

Lineside passes are available - please apply at the booking office at Toddington and please be in possession of an orange high-visibility jacket.

New Year's Eve and New Years Day - Happy New Year! Blue timetable services are running - the first three return trips from Toddington being steam hauled, the final one diesel.

Friday 1^st January is the final day of operation of the 2009 season. The railway is then closed for winter maintenance, including work on the main running line as well as on locomotives, signalling, bridges and rolling stock. If you fancy a piece of the action, why don't you volunteer? Find out more by clicking here!

Booking tickets: You can book tickets for the Blue timetable days online by clicking here

We're sorry, but tickets for both the Diesel Day and the Christmas Cracker cannot be booked online. This is because the online booking service is very new and is gradually being introduced although the service is becoming increasingly complete. Tickets for all services are, of course, obtainable from our booking offices at Toddington, Winchcombe (Greet) and Cheltenham Racecourse.

Fares (all tickets valid for unlimited travel on date of issue) are: 

Children under 5 travel free.

*All locomotives subject to availability.