East Kent Railway

Explore the heritage stations at Shepherdswell and Eythorne, climb aboard heritage trains to ride the old Kent coalfield route through the Golgotha Tunnel and take a ride on the miniature railway, visit the museum and find out more about this important piece of East Kent heritage.

Attraction Dover

Where

Station Road
Shepherdswell
Dover
CT15 7PD

What3words location

mimed.deflection.necklaces

Useful info

  • Family-friendly
  • Coach parties welcome
  • Coach parking available
  • Food and drink on site
  • Guide dogs, Hearing dogs and Registered assistance dogs welcome
  • On-site parking (charges may apply)
  • Public transport nearby
  • Season ticket/membership available
  • Visitor toilet/s
  • Accessible

Admission

Admission fees

Contact

A colourful poster with a train, cafe, model railway and other pictures
Great reasons to visit

Hop aboard a heritage diesel train and take the four-mile round trip between the pretty villages of Shepherdswell and Eythorne. You'll pass through beautiful rolling countryside, steep chalk-lined cuttings and the fascinating 500-m Golgotha Tunnel. Once a thriving industrial line serving the Kent Coalfield, the East Kent Railway is now a wonderful heritage railway with lovingly restored trains, an interactive museum, visitor centre, cafe and woodland walks.

Opening times

Trains run on Sundays from the end of March to the end of October; there is a limited service in winter.

Times are currently 10.45am, 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm. Please check the website for further details. As well as taking a heritage train ride, visitors can ride the miniature railways around the site - one through the picnic area and another through the woodland.

The Colonel's Cafe is open from 9am-4pm Tuesdays to Saturday and 9am-5pm on Sundays, as are the grounds - there's a lovely walk through 'The Knees', a 350-year-old woodland.

  • Four people - three sitting on a green bench, one standing, outside the ticket office at Shepherdswell station.
    The vintage station buildings are extremely photogenic.
  • Four people sitting in red upholstered seats on a train, chatting and laughing.
    Take a ride on old rolling stock on the Shepherdswell to Eythorne line.
  • Four people inside a museum signal box playing with the signals.
    Explore the museum buildings on site and find out about signalling and how railways used to operate.

Together with Kent Mining Museum at Betteshanger Park and the Elvington & Eythorne Heritage Centre, East Kent Railway helps build a rich picture of Kent's coalfield years. 

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