Name: Great Central Railway Loughborough
Rating: 5.0

Great Central Railway Loughborough

Great Central Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 1RW, England

1-90 Years

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Description

Great Central Railway Loughborough is a heritage railway station restored to reflect the style of the 1950s. Opened in 1899, it now serves as the busy headquarters of the Great Central Railway and offers an authentic steam railway experience. Visitors can explore historic platforms, ride heritage trains, and step back into Britain’s golden age of rail travel.

The station features a beautifully restored glass, metal and wood canopy, a wooden-panelled booking hall, and island-style platforms. On site you’ll find the GCR Museum (with over 500 railway artefacts), the Emporium selling railway memorabilia, the Locomotive Shed, and a Grade II listed Signal Box. Facilities include a buffet serving hot and cold meals, a gift shop, picnic area, accessible facilities, and close-up views of steam engines taking on water.

Ticket prices (standard day tickets) start from £24.00 Adult online (£26 at booking office, £23 after 14:30) and £13.00 Child online (£14 at booking office, £12 after 14:30). Family tickets cost £40.00 (1 Adult + 3 Children) online or £53.00 (2 Adults + 3 Children) online, with concessions, dog tickets (£3.00), and platform tickets (from £2) also available.

Overall, Great Central Railway Loughborough offers a full heritage railway experience with working steam and diesel locomotives. With museums, restoration workshops, and historic station surroundings, it is ideal for families, railway enthusiasts, and history lovers. It’s a nostalgic and immersive day out in Leicestershire.

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Host birthday parties: No

Features

Loughborough Central station is the busy headquarters of our railway. Opened in 1899, it was a large station for what was a comparatively small town on the Great Central Railway’s new line to London.
There was a goods yard, office and even a hotel. Today the station is restored to reflect the style of the 1950s. You enter through a wooden panelled booking hall with ticket office and a Visitor Centre where a short film and displays will help you start your visit
To reach the platforms, descend the wide stairway arcade (a new passenger lift was installed by the Booking Office in 2009 and every room now has ramped access, so it is fully accessible).
On the staircase, look out for the wooden ramp which was once used to slide parcels down. The platform is “island style” – between the two sets of running lines, meaning only one set of buildings is needed to serve two platform faces.
Loughborough is a great station to visit because of its rich history. It has appeared in several films and starred many well-known Hollywood stars such as Sir Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman.
As the operational headquarters of today’s GCR, you’ll often see trains waiting their next turn of duty. Follow the path off the end of the platform to reach the water tower where engines take on water – you can get a close-up view but watch out for the splash!
Here you will also find a picnic area, a lovely place to have your lunch and see the trains come into the platform. A little further is the Locomotive Shed and Signal Box.
If you are breaking your journey at Loughborough, the town centre is around ten minutes’ walk away, with a good range of shops, a Saturday market and a park with historic bell tower.

Facilities

Parking: On street parking only
Food & Drinks: The buffet at Loughborough Central serves hot and cold meals, light refreshments and is also licensed.
GCR Shop: Our shop at Loughborough Central is open whenever trains are running, typically closing after the last train of the day departs. You’ll find a wide range of souvenirs, sweets, gifts, books, locally produced honey and wines.

What to see

GCR Museum: With over 500 objects on display altogether, the GCR Museum is not to be missed. Situated at the south end of the platform, next to the lift entrance, it displays a wide range of small objects relating to the railway, together with pictures and photos. There’s also a film which runs throughout the day, telling the story of the railway from its earliest days, closure and revival today.
The Emporium: Railway enthusiast or not, the emporium is for you. Who knows what goodies you’ll find in our treasure trove of books, magazines, railwayana, models and bric-a-brac?
The Loco Shed: The Locomotive Shed at Loughborough Central is situated north of the station and just north of the Empress Road Bridge. It is accessed via a path off the north end of the platform past the signal box and under the bridge. The shed is the base for all the restoration, repair, maintenance and preparation for running of all the locomotives, both steam and diesel, on the railway. All manner of work is carried out there. Many locomotives have been restored from scrap yard condition. Some belong to the National collection and are on loan from the National Railway Museum in York.
Signal Box: The signal box at Loughborough Central is situated next to Empress Road bridge. Originally Loughborough was provided with two boxes but in the 1930s one was removed and control was concentrated in the building you see today. When the railway was closed the box became derelict. Not only were the bricks and mortar repaired, but all the heritage equipment rescued and installed to control trains. The box is also the only original GCR London Extension box and is a Grade II listed building.