Welcome to our dedicated railway covers page with a range of covers from British Rail through to Royal Mail celebrating Railways philatelically. We also stock listings from the small regional UK railways such as Festiniog and Talyllyn Railways in Wales through to the North Yorkshire Moors Railways. Please contact us if you can't find what you are looking for on our site as we have a backlog of railays covers to list.
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for 7+1⁄4 miles (12 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was first opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. In 1951 the railway became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.
The railway contiues to be operated as a tourist attraction and have expanded its rolling stock through acquisition and an engineering programme to build new locomotives and carriages.
In 2021 the railway was designated a World Heritage Site as part of the slate landscape of north-west Wales.
Festiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.
The railway is roughly 13+1⁄2 miles (21.7 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous terrain. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. The first mile of the line out of Porthmadog runs atop an embankment called the Cob, which is the dyke of the polder known as Traeth Mawr.
The Festiniog Railway Company, is the oldest surviving railway company in the world. It also owns the Welsh Highland Railway, which was re-opened fully in 2011. The two railways share the same track gauge and meet at Porthmadog station, with occasional trains working the entire 40-mile (64 km) route from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon.
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line between Grosmont and Rillington was closed in 1965 and the section between Grosmont and Pickering was reopened in 1973 by the North York Moors Historical Railway Trust Ltd. The preserved line is now a tourist attraction and has been awarded several industry accolades.
In 2007, the railway started to run regular services over the 6 miles (9.7 km) section of the Esk Valley Line north of Grosmont to Whitby. In 2014, a second platform was opened at Whitby which allowed the NYMR to run an enhanced service and led to passenger numbers in the same year of nearly 350,000 people.
As of 2020, the Railway ran for 24 miles (39 km). It is owned and operated by a charitable trust, with 100 staff who work full time, 50 seasonal staff, and over 550 volunteers. The complement includes 30 engineers.