We travelled on the Welsh Marches tour on 5th March 2022. Good: The journey is wonderful with stunning scenery. Clun Castle never missed a beat and we did well on timings until the last part of the journey getting back to Tyesley Works (when we were late, having waited at snow hill 30minutes) The serving team worked really hard, they were friendly and chatted away and nothing was too much trouble. Bad: We were in the Eagle Pullman car - it was freezing all day, no heating and the doors between the carriages were open (for the convenience of the staff passing through serving customers). All our party had tops, jumpers, coats, scarves and gloves jeans and boots and we were all cold all day. There was no heating at all in this carriage and it was extremely cold and uncomfortably cold. The food was poor - porridge awful with a few raisins on top, toast wasn’t toasted, English breakfast was passable. Evening meal - starter cold roasted vegetable and olive salad not very nice, roast chicken - quite good, dessert reasonable, cheese and biscuits, nice cheese but just ordinary crackers no celery, a few grapes. Considering we paid £140 each for the food it was very poor value for money indeed. The bread rolls were cheap and nasty. The evening meal did not include any drinks or wine they were all extra. Our carriage was not given a feedback form, the lights at each table didn’t work, the curtains were faded and hanging off the rail. The toilet was awful - brown stained bowl, no hot water, no towels to dry your hands. On the outward journey there were some sheets of loo roll to dry your hands on however during the journey the toilet was not replenished. The waiting /catering staff were amazingly good and we gave them a generous tip as they were doing their very best. The drinks were expensive £2.20 for a can of coke, £4:40 for a small can of beer, we expect to pay more on a trip out but these did seem expensive. There seemed to be a few train managers - they did not once ask our table how’s your journey going? Have you had a good day? Everything alright? We felt ignored. We have travelled with vintage trains over the last 15 years and always felt it was of a good standard and reasonable quality. Todays journey fell far short of reasonable and we won’t be booking with vintage trains again. We leave this review to let other prospective travellers know what to expect, somewhere along the way Vintage trains have lost their way and are cutting corners and providing a cheap alternative to the standard expected and advertised. I am sorry to have to post such a poor review however this has been our experience today.

We travelled on the White Rose day excursion to York. Everything was well organised on arrival at Tysely for an 8:30 departure and the staff were amazing from beginning to end. However shortly before arriving at Totton our train broke down due to a problem with a water pipe supplying the engine...essential on a steam train. We were stationary for an hour while the onboard engineer effected repairs. We arrived in York at 2pm instead of 1pm and our time visiting the Christmas market was therefore less than expected. We enjoyed our pre-booked bacon butties, despite the absence of butter! However on our return journey there were no plans for any hot food to be available for purchase in tourist class and the heating wasn’t working in several carriages including ours. We were told it was a further problem created by the water pipe issue in the morning. We were lucky that the outside temperature was warmer than usual for mid-December. What would they have done if it was literally freezing? We were glad to return to the warmth of our car for the journey home at approximately 11pm. Vintage Trains, your onboard staff were brilliant but you do need to up your game in the maintenance department.

I booked a return journey from snowhill to Stratford upon Avon for a relative who was visiting from Australia. I paid £95 for 3 persons to travel on what was advertised as a " delightful Sunday trip on a famous express steam locomotive ". This was not the case on the day. The engine that operated the service was a diesel, an engine of no interest to my relative who used to be a fireman on steam trains before moving to Australia. Vintage trains refused point blank to offer a refund despite the false advertising and admitting in an email that the website should have reflected any change in the service. A return trip ona normal train is £9 on a Sunday. Why would anyone spend £30 if it was not going to be operated by the advertised steam locomotive. My matter, along with my supporting documents, is now with the ombudsman. Please avoid this company at all costs

I went with husband today on the Shakespeare Express. We had a wonderful time our ticket included a full breakfast on the outward journey and afternoon tea on the return journey. The food was lovely . The staff were friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend this for a wonderful day out. Cant wait to go again.

Polar express was absolutely amazing! Cannot believe how magical this experience was!

My mother gifted me this experience as she could not go. For nearly £200 this experience was not worth it! The staff were friendly that’s about the only upside! When boarding the toilet was blocked, the staff appeared to be unorganised and were focused on the passengers who ordered alcohol. We had to ask twice just to get coffee that was included and a glass of water which came an hour into the trip!!! Food was ok but not at all worth the money! It came cold and my partner received his 10 mins before mine so we didn’t eat together. All in all not enjoyable and definitely not worth nearly 200 pounds!!!

I actually ordered some figurines which the got for me but whilst there in this small shop but well packed with railwayania models excetera - I purchased OO scale yard lamps that light up and is usefull for my Aviation diecast collection hobby of 1:20O 1/72 and 1:400 scale

This company hires agency staff and forces them to work 18 hours shifts, without a proper break. While the customers are outside eating, the staff is not even allowed to use the toilet. If you care about the working conditions in the UK, don't go with them

Cracking day out fab food great staff.

Amazing polar express experience. The actors were amazing. The train was fabulous. Bought a tear to my eye....truly magical

Taken part in a number of previous outings, this time to Skegness was a let down. Stuck at Nuneaton for 2 hours, poor value meals in Pullman class (fake Pullman coach?), too many lengthy stops all contributed to our decision to make it our last outing with VT. Sorry guys, need to do better.

Had a lovely (but really long) day on the train, with a stop in Cardiff for lunch. Staff are all really friendly, and prices for tea & coffee on the train are very reasonable. We took my dad for his birthday, and he enjoyed it very much.

Look out for this company's rail tours. They are the best. Shakespeare Express is highly recommended with high speed running on the main line

Here on business and was treated well by the staff

Great nice to see it back.

The Polar Express experience out of Moor Street was wonderful. A lovely hour trip out with entertainment and hot chocolate. Looking forward to visiting again next year, thank you!

Such a magical experience. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The actors were amazing and gave it their all, well done. Fabulous. Definitely worth going.

Lovely few hours. Hopefully another open day happens soon

the menu was as specified, the journey and service was superb

Well worth the open day. Tickets sell fast so book. The train trips are also amazing 🤩

I would normally not hesitate in giving the Tyseley open day 5 stars, but was a little disappointed in the Castle Centenary weekend, the atmosphere was low, no sandwich or tea / coffee available

Amazing day out on the Shakespeare Express from Birmingham to Stratford On Avon. Booked a table for two on the Pullman class, well worth the price paid. Breakfast was hot & drinks were served quickly and effortlessly, and the quality of ingredients was second to none! The afternoon teas was just perfect, sandwiches were fresh and pastries were warmed and scones were lovely and soft. Staff were very friendly and attentive and it really did make for an enjoyable experience.

We went from Birmingham to Stratford today as a 60th birthday present for my husband. We were greeted on the platform at Moor Street by a friendly and helpful volunteer. There were 6 adults and we were seated together in the dining carriage. We were served breakfast on the way out and afternoon tea on the return journey. Both were excellent, with plentiful food served by lovely friendly staff. The train was spotless and beautifully presented. It is quite pricey but I think the day exceeded expectations for all of us. I can highly recommend it if you want a special day out.

For the sake of your sanity do not use this company they are absolutely incompetant, We have booked on 6 trips with them, 4 have been cancelled and on the other 2 the route was changed taking out the interesting sections of the route and leaving it a mundane journey. I wouldnt trust them to run a bath, be warned.

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