Yeovil Railway Centre

The centre was created in 1993 in an effort to preserve Yeovil Junction’s turntable after British Rail’s decision to close it.

What to see at the Yeovil Railway Centre

The turntable is the museum’s highlight, although there is plenty more to see including a transfer shed from the 1860s and a water tower that was built to service steam locomotives. The Yeovil Railway Centre is also home to a small collection of diesel and steam locomotives.

The museum also maintains a 400m (¼ mile) stretch of track on the Clifton Maybank spur that is used for demonstration trains. However, these trains only run on special ‘train days’. There is also a model railway and a miniature steam railway, however, this is also usually only open on ‘train days’.

The Yeovil Railway Centre also operates a programme of occasional heritage railway services to Exeter or Weymouth using steam trains.

Visiting the Yeovil Railway Centre

The Yeovil Railway Centre is located adjacent to Yeovil Junction railway station and its location means that it is easiest to visit if you drive or arrive by rail as buses between the station and the town centre do not operate on Sundays when the centre is usually open.

It is best to visit on a ‘train day’ when heritage trains and the turntable are operating and when the model railway is open to visitors. The Yeovil Railway Centre also operates a number of other special events including Driver Experience Days, when you can learn to drive a steam train and Santa Specials, which combine a steam train ride with a visit from Father Christmas.

Entry costs £6.50 on a diesel train day and £12.50 on a steam train day and £20 (£15 if booked in advance) on a Santa Special.

See below for a list of special events planned for 2024:

If you’re not visiting for one of these special events, you are able to visit the platform shop every Sunday between 10am and noon, although you are limited by what you can see if you’re not visiting on a ‘train day’.

There is a small gift shop with railway-related books and collectables as well as a small cafe inside the transfer shed.

Allow 1–2 hours for your visit to the Yeovil Railway Centre.