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Crafting steam train winter wonderlands

Heritage Steam Train Winter Illuminations

North Norfolk Railway Steam Train Illumination Winter

For 3 years we have brought the UK’s most beautiful landscapes to life with winter wonderland illuminations dotted along the country’s much-loved steam railway routes. This year, our routes are more dazzling than ever.

The Brief

The UK’s network of heritage steam railways is already a treat to experience, but for the dark winter months, The Magical Christmas Light Trains project wanted to make their trains even more of a spectacle. The trains themselves needed to be lit, as well as the countryside along the railway routes with lighting to illuminate, enhance, and transform the passing landmarks and landscapes into winter wonderland scenes.

North Norfolk Railway Platform Steam Train Illumination Winter

Our Approach

We want these journeys to be awe-inspiring and to spark the imaginations of adults and children alike. We use a system developed in-house that uses GPS to trigger LED lighting on all sides of the trains and specific scenes along the railway line for a journey that is constantly animated by out of this world colours, atmosphere, and light. We chose lighting technology that could withstand the constant movement and vibrations of a moving train, and any weather events that might occur during the journey. We also had to select LED lighting that we could fit easily and safely onto the train. As we were using so many lights that had to be powered along the full length of a train, we were conscious throughout the design and implementation process to use energy-efficient tech.

The Results

Our winter illuminations have proven such a success over the years that we have added two more railways to our annual offering. This means we are now offering a package of six different railways lit up by beautiful illuminations across the UK. Every route is an absolute marvel to see, with the beautiful blend of vibrant light and the ethereal sight of multi-coloured steam floating in the night sky a real sight to remember.

North Norfolk Railway Steam Train and forest Illumination
3
years creating heritage steam train winter illuminations
6
railway illuminations across the UK

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