The Railway Touring Company · Escorted tour

German and Benelux Autumn Steam Gala

German and Benelux Autumn Steam Gala, a rail journey with The Railway Touring Company

Experience the best of the autumn steam gala season in the Low Countries as well as the Rhine and Ruhr region of Western Germany.

Day by day

  1. Day 1railovernight: Aachen

    London to Aachen by train

    Travel by Eurostar from London St. Pancras to Brussels Midi, before changing to a high speed train to Aachen, a UNESCO World Heritage city famous as the seat of Charlemagne. After checking into your centrally located quality hotel, enjoy free time to explore Aachen before a welcome dinner with the group.

  2. Day 2railovernight: Aachen

    Steam at the Selfkantbahn and steam at the Oekhoven Feldbahn

    Transfer by private coach to the narrow gauge Selfkantbahn near the Dutch border for a private charter with numerous photo stops and run-pasts. After lunch, continue to the nearby 600mm field railway and narrow-gauge museum at Oekoven, where steam again hauls your private charter. Return to Aachen in the late afternoon.

  3. Day 3railovernight: Aachen

    Dutch autumn steam gala at the 'Miljoenenlijn' in Simpelveld

    Visit the South Limburg Steam Railway at Simpelveld for its annual autumn gala weekend, with reserved seats and a day rover ticket to ride the various locomotives through idyllic farmland and rolling hills. Return by coach to Aachen in the late afternoon.

  4. Day 4railovernight: Aachen

    Autumn steam gala at Mariembourg, Belgium

    After a two-hour coach transfer to southern Wallonia, enjoy the autumn steam gala at the Three Valleys Heritage Railway, with a day rover ticket to hop on and hop off the steam trains running between Mariembourg and Treignes. Return to Aachen in the evening for dinner at the hotel.

  5. Day 5railovernight: Aachen

    Steam at Krefeld on the Schluff industrial heritage railway

    Explore the Schluff Railway in Krefeld, where standard gauge 0-8-0 tank engine 98 8921 hauls your private charter over the full length of the line to Hulser Berg and St. Tonies. Enjoy lunch at a brewery restaurant in Krefeld before returning to Aachen.

  6. Day 6railovernight: Aachen

    Drachenfels rack railway above the Rhine and Wuppertal Schwebebahn

    Take a service train via Cologne to Konigswinter to ride the Drachenfelsbahn rack railway high above the Rhine, then continue by service train to Wuppertal to ride the world-famous 1900 monorail suspension railway, possibly on the restored 'Kaiserwagen'. Return to Aachen for a farewell dinner.

  7. Day 7rail

    Return to London

    Board a direct high speed train from Aachen Hbf to Brussels, where you change to a Eurostar service through the Channel Tunnel back to London St. Pancras.

Included

  • Eurostar Plus seating on Eurostar services from London to Bruxelles and return
  • 6 nights hotel with breakfast
  • 2 Lunches
  • 3 Dinners
  • First Class rail travel on high speed rail services (where possible)
  • All private charter trains and heritage railway visits as detailed in the itinerary
  • The services of a Tour Manager

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