york-durham heritage railway

We booked our seats in September for a December 14th train ride. Somehow we ended up sitting the only car that didn't have proper seats. We literally sat on steel kitchen chairs at a bare wooden table. The sights were nice.

My kids were very excited about this trip. The experience itself was fun - it was cool to ride on a 50s era train. Two clowns came by first and made balloon animals for the kids. Right afterwards Santa came by the seats to sit down with each table separately. I thought the Santa was great! Very kind and engaging - he had a really good manner with the kids! Later on a magician came by as well as a guy with a guitar singing Christmas songs.I was a little disappointed that there were no beverages or snacks for the kids (bring your own!). Overall, a enjoyable trip for little kids.

Our family rode the Santa Train on Saturday December 6th. This was a 4 generation family outing, which was enjoyed by the old and young. The day is a chance for kids to ride on an older railway car and meet Santa. Every child I seen was having an amazing time, laughing and singing christmas songs along with the guitar player. A clown made balloon figures for every childs wish. A magician also had many tricks up his sleeve for the young minds!The train was decorated with Christmas decorations. For the grumpy at heart, remember, this day is for you children. Its an excellent experience for the children, so sing along with them and make their trip a happy time. We are definitely going to take this trip again, perhaps for the Halloween experience!!Patricia

My family travelled on the Santa train this past weekend and had a fantastic day. I don't know why anyone would criticize the decorations as they were plentiful and cheerful. There was great entertainment & the kids had a great time and were given a goodie bag when we got off the train. I didn't see anything about hot chocolate on their website as previously mentioned and we have taken this Santa train for a few years now and will come back again for sure!

We where very excited to do this train as I have two young boys four and two,unfortunately our excitement did not last long it was not what we had expected.The idea was wonderful,The train is cheaply decorated in dollar store finds, they had entertainment a magician who was okay didn't seem too enthusiastic there were two guys with guitars and singing Christmas songs at one point they seem to forget the words and were completely off.to the children Santa appeared great we had a wonderful personality and did take the time with them I was a little disappointed and his Santa suit I think they could've put more effort into finding something a little more authentic it was quite cheaply made.I was disappointed that they had no hot chocolate or cookies for the children which I believe was advertised as well as no activities.it is a long trip waiting for the visit with Santa for little children to stay occupied when there's nothing for them to do thankfully we did pack some snacks! Especially when the coaches set up with tables and chairs I just thought that they would be using the tables to have snacks and activities.on the parting the train they did hand the children little goodie bags which was a nice touch but nothing out of the ordinary day.I was a little confused,The coach ahead of us it's like everyone that was leaving that coach the children were leaving with gifts not sure if it was a private party or if there was a different package that was available.for a family of four it did cost us about $75 I hate to complain I just don't think it was worth the money I don't ever see us doing this again and wish I had known exactly how it was I probably would've spent my money elsewhere.

Whilst on a tour of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec we wanted to explore some of Canada's railway heritage. Railways having played such a part in the recent history of the nation.The York-Durham railway gave us a relaxed (perhaps almost too relaxed?) intoduction to Canada's railway heritage. The pace of the journey is very leisurely and nothing is rushed by the volunteers.We enjoyed the "fall colours" as we ambled through the gentle countryside in this part of Ontario. For the enthuiast there is not the opportunity as one would get in Europe to lean out the window and feel the wind in ones hair and get photos of the train in action. For photos it maybe better to obtain a good road map of the area and "chase the train".The station area at Uxbridge is delightful with a small but interesting museum.A pleasant way to relax on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

View of branches hitting the windows, nothing to see in the town. This trip is a waste of money and time. BORING

Great excursion at a relaxed pace in an old railway coach. Nice scenery, great fun for the kids. The staff were friendly and helpful - all volunteers.

Thank you for your review of our train ride. We operate the train from June to December with only a short break in November to prepare for Santa's visit on board. Our Fall Colours trips in September offer a great view of the changing colours of the Oak Ridges Moraine from the comfort of your seat. We have recently cleared back a significant amount of brush from the route to allow even more scenery to be visible. Come back and ride with us again soon!

Our family of four rode the Santa train for the first time on December 15th. All in all it was a pleasant one hour experience which the kids enjoyed. There were christmas carollers, a magician, clown and Santa. As we left the train, our children received a loot bag of goodies (a nice touch). Would I recommend it to my friends? Hmmm... I would say it's a cute experience but not a "must do". Reason being I feel as though there could have been more effort made by the team responsible for creating the experience. More effort in decorating the train, carollers who smiled and enjoyed themselves, a smiling and engaging/less disturbing clown, a more enthusiastic magician but most importantly a better dressed Santa who somewhat resembled Santa, if not in appearance then at least in age. Santa's appearance was my biggest disappointment. His Santa jacket was open in the back, he had white make up smeared across his eyebrows in an attempt to mask his black hair leaving him with a very odd appearance. He was also a very thin man. The disappointment was purely in his physical appearance. He was great with the kids and very patient. Santa was the only energetic team member who seemed to enjoy his job. Everyone else seemed like robots going through the motions. Considering we were in coach 101 on the 11 a.m train, we couldn't even excuse it away with " It's probably been a long day and we are the last coach..." With respect to the ride itself, it was set in beautiful scenery. We were fortunate enough to go on a day where everything was covered in white snow. My conclusion, the Santa train has all the elements but lacks energy. If they could fix this, it would be a fantastic experience. My tip should you decide to go, do as I did and pack a thermos of hot cocoa and cookies.

We went on the Santa Train today - December 15th. It was on time and the train was cute. There were some carollers, a magician and a balloon maker. Santa came around and talked with our kids. He was very pleasant - I think this was the best part of the trip. There were no cookies and hot chocolate as was advertised on the website. You should consider removing that as it was not done. It's misleading. The bathrooms were out of commission and there was no snack bar. The scenery was lovely. All in all an okay trip. When we got back to uxbridge, the kids were given a bag of treats - candy, and some little trinkets. Nice. I wouldn't do it again though.

Took our two young kids on the Santa train ride this morning. It was an interesting experience. Our seats were in a car outfitted with dining chairs and tables. The chairs were open back and within 5 minutes of sitting down, my two year old slipped through the back of the chair and fell on the floor! Luckily he was okay after some hugs. The train was decorated with dollar store Christmas decorations - the kids loved it. There were two guys with guitars singing Christmas carols to keep the kids entertained until Santa arrived. Santa as good - quite realistic and took the time to chat with each family at their table. He was followed by a clown making balloon animals for the kids. Then.... perhaps halfway to the turnaround point, we suddenly stopped. WE HAD HIT VEHICLE at an unmarked crossing!!!! (The tracks crossed over someone's long rural driveway). How anyone could not see this train approaching without enough time to get out of the way is beyond me. It travels soooo slowly. The staff were quick to announce that there had been an incident and tried their best to keep us updated on the situation. No one on the train or in the car was injured. The kids enjoyed the arrival of the police car. Eventually, we were underway. All the kids were getting squirrelly and hungry (never saw any snack bar?) at this point as we headed back to Uxbridge instead of continuing on. We didn't do the full round trip- which was fine because we were all ready to get off the train by then anyway. Staff handled the situation well. Wouldn't do this one again.

Thank you for visiting the York Durham Heritage Railway. We aim to be a great enjoyable day for the whole family. As you mentioned, we offer a great view, refreshments available on-board, and a relaxing ride through one of the best green spaces in the Greater Toronto Area. We hope that you will return to ride with us again.

Hi. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your recent trip on the York-Durham Heritage Railway. We are very happy to hear that you enjoyed your day with us. The YDHR is definitely one of the best places in the Greater Toronto Area to see the fall colours, all from a comfortable seat on board the train. We hope that you will come back and ride with us again!

Hi. Thank you for your review of the York-Durham Heritage Railway. There have been many changes and improvements since your ride with us this past season. A new set of passenger coaches has been acquired and have been operating since late November 2012. These coaches feature modern washrooms, table seating, and air conditioning/heating systems in each coach. The seating you described is from our older heritage coaches which, due to their age from the 1950's, did not offer these amenities. Our new coaches are fully rebuilt and have been receiving very positive feedback from our passengers. The track system safety lights are operated by the owners of the line we operate on and we have worked very hard since your visit to improve the efficiency of these warning lights so that delays are minimized. I would like to invite you and your family back during the upcoming 2013 season to experience our new train ride. If there is anything we can do to improve your visit, feel free to contact us by phone or email prior to your trip and our volunteers will be happy to address any needs you may have.