Make this Christmas a real cracker with a trip on board our famous Elf Express! Meet our Chief Elf as well as Santa Claus himself and enjoy an interactive Christmas performance before jumping on board a heritage locomotive! There’ll be live entertainment, Christmas music, lots of photo opportunities, refreshments and a special present from Santa for every child.
There are some outdoor elements to the event so please make sure you are wrapped up for the weather. Be sure to wear a warm coat, outdoor shoes/boots and bring your hats, gloves and scarves too.
Please allow sufficient time for your journey. We are situated close to a retail park so traffic may be heavy and event times cannot be delayed.
We have a free on site car park with 65 spaces. Please park courteously.
Buggies can be left in the museum whilst you are on the train. Please contact a member of staff on arrival.
Children under 1 need to have a ticket but will need to sit on your knee throughout the train ride.
Passengers visiting a steam railway must expect to come across the products of combustion which may settle on clothing and liability for this is excluded.
Your visit will last approximately 90 minutes.
What is included in the visit?
🎄 Event Schedule & Information 🎄
🕤 9:30 AM – Arrival As families arrive, we’ll check you in, hand out stickers and refreshment tokens, and you can head straight into the museum. From there, you’re free to:
✨ Enjoy the festive decorations
☕ Collect your drinks & gingerbread men
🧩 Take part in the Christmas trail
⏰ Schedule:
9:55 AM – The festive show begins inside the museum (approx. 15 minutes). If anyone needs a break, the quiet entrance area will be available.
After the show – Elves will escort families to the train, organised by carriage seating. If you need priority boarding, please let us know in advance – you’ll be guided to the entrance area just before the show ends.
10:20 AM – Train departs 🎅🚂
11:20 AM – Train returns 🎄✨
At the Museum there are toilet facilities including disabled and baby change.
There are no toilet facilities on the train, Museum platform or Percy Main platform (which is the turnaround point for the train to return to the Museum).
What facilities do you have for wheelchair users?
There are two parking bays marked out as accessible parking bays for blue badge holders. These are all located close to the access path to the Museum.
As a heritage railway, we are exempt from certain aspects of the Equality Act. We regret that we are unable to offer wheelchair access to our carriages as the door openings are restricted to 55cm. Wheelchair users must be able to self-transfer onto the passenger carriages to ride on our heritage trains. For further help or information, please email us at [email protected]
Although we make every attempt to make the venue as accessible as possible, aspects of the building and the nature of the exhibits on display sometimes make it difficult to make everything fully accessible.
The locomotives and rolling stock are heritage items which in many cases have not been designed with accessibility in mind. It is often not possible to enhance physical access whilst retaining the historical integrity of the objects.
There is a short gentle ramp leading to the main entrance from the car park. One set of automatic double doors lead into the entrance.
The Museum is all on one level. It has a very simple layout with aisles between the rows of large exhibits. The floor is uneven in some areas, where rail tracks are embedded in the surface. However, walkway matting is provided at certain points to make it easier to cross the rails.
Event venue
Stephenson Steam Railway, Middle Engine Lane ,North Shields, United Kingdom
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.
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