This week (21st-27th July 2025)

It’s Railway 200 Wild West Weekend!

The settlers of Spearfish Creek return to Sittingbourne’s Steam Railway this weekend (26 & 27th July 2025). Trains will be departing Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm. Please note that you must pre-book the 11am train to avoid a two-hour wait until the next train.

There will be a shoot-out on every train although the 11am and 4pm trains will also be held-up on approach to Spearfish Creek station.

The train journey is 15 minutes each way and the shoot-out show will last about 5 minutes, after which you can explore Spearfish Creek, meet the settlers and find out about their way of life. The Footplate Café and shop will also be open – be sure to pop-in as we have a new range of SKLR branded gifts such as kids T-shirts, fridge magnets, key rings, tote bags and more.

Trains return at 12.35pm, 1.35pm, 2.35pm, 3.35pm & 4.45pm. You don’t have to go straight back on the next train – wait at the viewing area and watch the shoot-outs of subsequent trains, you can return on any train, or upgrade to a rover ticket for £4 and you can travel on as many trains as you want that day.

We are running every Sunday and Bank Holiday until the end of September.

Return (there-and-back) fares are:

£9 for adults
£4.50 for children (3-15)
Infants aged under 3 travel free
£8 for senior citizens
£24 for families (2 adults and 4 children)
SKLR Members – £2 adults and £1 children
Other fares available

Tickets can be purchased in advance from FareHarbor, our new online ticket retailers, click on the BOOK NOW button on the website (www.sklr.net) by 6pm the day before travel. We are selling 30 tickets per train online but the train can carry around 80 passengers.

There are still spaces available on the 11am trains on both days – book by 6pm the day before travel. These trains will be held-up on approach to Spearfish Creek and will have an extended shoot-out show. Trains return to Sittingbourne Viaduct station hourly 12.35pm until 3.35pm then 4.45pm, you may return on any train.

We’ve bought a train – yes a locomotive and three wagons – to provide a safer and more manageable track maintenance train, as well as an instantly available locomotive which will make shunting at Kemsley Down so much easier.

Click here or on the picture above to go to our Just Giving page, we’re trying to raise £15,000 to buy the train, move it to Kemsley Down, buy a battery charger for the loco and make improvements to the wagons so they drop ballast directly onto the track.

We have actually bought the train as the offer was time-bound as it need to be removed from the storage site. This means we have used other funds to pay for it so the fundraising will continue to reduce the impact on other planned purchases this year (coal etc.). A massive thank you to the people who have donated already – we’ve raised over 33% of the target amount.

Most of our track gang volunteers have retired from full time work so anything that makes their life easier and safer has got to be a good thing.

Here’s how they currently do it – shovelling ballast from bags on a wagon to wheelbarrows and then wheeled to site.

The new wagons will drop the stone directly onto the trackbed once they have been modified for the task.

Summer holiday trains

The school holidays have arrived so we will be operating our yellow timetable service from next Wednesday, 30th July, and then every Wednesday, Sunday and the Bank Holiday Monday throughout August.

Trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm.

Trains depart Kemsley Down station at 12.35pm, 1.35pm, 2.35pm, 3.35pm & 4.45pm. You may return on any train.

What’s on this month?

Saturday 26th – Railway 200 Wild West Weekend – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm (11am train only bookable online, the return train will be at 12.35pm from Kemsley Down)
Saturday 27th – Railway 200 Wild West Weekend – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm (11am train only bookable online, the return train will be at 12.35pm from Kemsley Down)
Wednesday 30th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm

What’s on next month (August)?

Sunday 3rd – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Wednesday 6th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Sunday 10th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Wednesday 13th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Sunday 17th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Wednesday 20th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Sunday 24th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Monday 25th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Wednesday276th – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm
Sunday 31st – Yellow Timetable – trains depart Sittingbourne Viaduct station at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm