West Ryde Mini Trains

West Ryde Mini Trains – find of the Spring Season! 

 

The West Ryde Mini Trains are so cool. Put on by the Sydney Live Steam Locomotive Society these little beauties are completely real and even operate off tiny little pieces of coal. I absolutely love this find and am SO grateful to the mom who invited us to a birthday party there. Without that invite we would not have even known about the West Ryde Mini Trains.

 

If you haven’t heard about these trains and you are a train enthusiast or you have little kids you have got to go visit.

 

I absolutely loved loved loved visiting this place.

 

This post contains all the information you need to find this absolute hidden gem of an experience. 

 

 

 

 

Where is the West Ryde Mini Trains

 

Location

 

The Mini Trains are hidden away in West Ryde. Tucked away in suburbia. If you drove around the block that it sits on any day of the week you would never know where it is. The only giveaway that it is there  is on open day there is a queue outside the entrance.  

 

Address

 

The West Ryde Mini Trains are situated on the corner of Anthony Road and Betts Street, West Ryde, 2114.  

 

Parking

 

There is on-street parking along the block that the West Ryde Mini Trains is on but it is limited.

 

Directly across the road is West Ryde Marketplace Shopping Centre where you can park undercover. You will have to pay for this parking.

 

The West Ryde Mini Trains operate on the Third Sunday of every month from 1:30pm to about 4:30pm.

 

West Ryde Mini Trains

Features – What I love about West Ryde Mini Trains

 

There are three miniature railways which each have these beautiful little steam trains running along them. You can smell the coal burning, I just love it.  Each train is usually made up of 6 or so carriages being pulled by one or two locomotives. One we went on was being hauled by three or four locomotives, my kids were over the moon!

 

Every now and again you will hear one of the trains hooting in amongst all the kids cheering. I may have also been yelling with excitement.

 

The locomotives run around a green belt, past the crowds, over a gully and under bridges. There are signs and signals.

 

Another beautiful element of the West Ryde Mini Trains is the enthusiasts who run and operate the Mini Trains. Watching these volunteers care for their engines, spend all afternoon running excited families around and around the lines while answering thousands of questions. To watch the volunteers gather to fix an issue or pack up the trains at the end of the day is just so special.  

 

The grounds are small but cool. There are old school lamp posts, a signal tower all set around the double track ground level railway and the elevated railway.

 

Entry cost and tickets

 

Entry is $2 for adults and $1 for children. The rides are a $1 per ride.

 

There are not eftpos facilities. You have to pay cash.  

 

The West Ryde Mini Trains are so cool. Put on by the Sydney Live Steam Locomotive Society these little beauties are completely real and even operate off tiny little pieces of coal.

 

Facilities at the West Ryde Mini Trains

 

Food

 

There is a little kiosk that serves drinks, cakes, ice cream and chips but you are welcome to take your own food in and have a picnic. You will just have to get there early to find a spot for your picnic blanket.

 

Bathrooms

 

There are proper bathrooms on site.

 

West Ryde Mini Trains

 

How to prepare and what to take – most important points

 

  1. You have to wear closed shoes. No one will be allowed on rides without closed shoes. Crocs do not count as closed shoes.
  2. Take Cash because there are no Eftpos facilities.
  3. Get there early because there will be a queue.
  4. Take your own food if you are there over lunch.
  5. Prepare to wait for train rides. You can wait up to 40 minutes for a train ride.

 

If you or your kids love trains you have also got to go check out Valley Heights Locomotives. If you’re heading to or from the Blue Mountains you have got to check this place out. 

 

OR

If you’re looking for a short little train ride, there is the Choo Choo Express that does a short run around the Botanical Garden.