Our museum houses one of the largest collections in the country under one roof. Many locomotives and vehicles on display have been restored on site by our dedicated team of volunteers.  We’ll show you the different types of locomotives and tell you their unique stories. From interesting facts about their past lives, to where they were built and the industries that they worked in.

Moving around the museum you can travel through history from 1865 right up to the early 2000’s and get up close to our huge locomotives. Witness the size of the footplate; imagine this small space was shared by the driver, firemen and cleaner! All squeezed in together on board and often working up to 12 hour long shifts! Very cosy.

Explore our museums permanent and temporary displays such as the History of Preston Dock, Railway Signalling and Mail in the NW in our bright red Travelling Post Office carriage.

Many of our displays can easily be added to School Trips as part of class studies see:

The three mile return trip along our line, over the dock swing-bridge and alongside the diverted River Ribble, is the culmination of our work on the Heritage Railway. Often the locomotive pulling your train will have been restored in our own workshop by our dedicated volunteers.

The coaches are examples from the 1960’s and they have been painstakingly repainted and refurbished on site.

The train ride, albeit a fairly short one, is the result of a great many hours of hard work and we hope that you enjoy this part of your visit.

Please sure that you arrive at least 30 mins before your chosen train time to fully enjoy your Ribble experience and ensure you can board your train in good time.

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Many of the locomotives that you will see in our museum have been restored on site. Our team of talented and dedicated volunteers lovingly rebuild, repair and replace many locomotive parts; from steam boilers, to smoke boxes, wheels and bogeys and even chassis repairs . Our well-equipped workshop enables us to make new locomotive parts or restore original ones to their former glory.

Locomotives are initially assessed to determine whether they can be returned to working order or whether they are to be made available for display in our museum building.

Our volunteers come from all different backgrounds and receive on-site training in a number of traditional crafts and learn many specialist heritage skills. To find out more go to our volunteering page.

Mrs Ribble’s Tearoom offers Hot and Cold drinks as well as a selection of tasty light snacks to either eat in or take onto the train with you.

You are welcome to bring your own picnic to eat on the train or in the playground. Please ensure that you dispose of your rubbish via the onsite bins.