Best steam train rides in southern England?

The two biggest preserved railways are the Severn Valley Railway and the North York Moors Railway, though neither are ideally placed for a day trip from London. Note that many of the preserved railways are "weekends only" and/or "May to September". Though that is not true of the Severn Valley Railway or North York Moors Railway.
For a day trip from London, try the Bluebell Railway or the Nene Valley Railway, both of which connect with "modern" trains to and from London. I don't know where you got the idea that the Bluebell line "only go a mile or two", according to its website it is 11 miles long.

Two further options to consider:
1) A day trip from London to York (by 125 mph train), followed by a trip to the National Railway Museum. Plenty of other attractions in York for 3-63 year olds.
2) A side trip to Paris, by 190 mph Eurostar train.

Thanks, Chris. I don't know why I thought that about the Bluebell train; I must have confused it with another train I read about. It does look like a good option.

And I have thought of a trip to York when we depart London, so it would be overnight rather than a day trip. I will look further into the attractions you mention there. As for Paris, the little guy has already been there with his family, but he doesn't remember it as he was only 15 months. I think his parents would rather focus on steam trains this trip. They would probably like the Severn Valley option as they have not yet been to that area.

This trip would be a year from now, so early October. I did find that some of the trains ( like the Watercress) run on weekends only then.

The greatest concentration of narrow gauge steam lines is in Wales. www.visitwales.co.uk
Go to this site & click map to see where they are:http://www.greatlittletrainsofwales.co.uk/index.html

Any other queries on Wales should be in the Wales forum rather than England.

The Bluebell line has a couple of advantages, it is linked to the main line railway (finally after many many years!!) at East Grinstead so is very convenient from London, it goes through beautiful countryside, has some excellent engines, is very professional, and the end of the line is at the fabulous National Trust Sheffield Park which is one of the premier places for autumn colour reflected in their lakes. Great for adults, great for kids.

The Severn Valley Railway is the granddaddy of them all, and I am pretty biased because of the many hours I volunteered there - although not much in the last decade - both in the summer and for Santa days.

October gets short shrift at most preserved railways because the kids are back at school, volunteers are taking a breather after a busy summer and quietly getting ready for a Santa season, the days are shorter and the weather less pleasant, and visitor numbers are way down between the seasons. It costs a lot of money to fire up a steam engine so if there are few people there to ride behind it they tend not to do it. Hence the weekend runnings.

Most of these preserved railways are entirely or nearly entirely run by volunteers.

The Watercress Line is very good, went on it some years ago with my youngest son. New Alresford (where the one of the stations is) is a nice little town to walk around:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Alresford

The Watercress Line is on the same level as the Bluebell, I'd say, and it's also directly connected to the main railway system, at Alton (trains from Waterloo). The Bluebell is good too, though.

I would also suggest the Didcot Railway Centre, which is about 45 minutes from Paddington. It's a restored engine shed without a long line, but there are lots of trains moving around to take short rides on.

Another fairly special trip would be to visit the Isle of Wight (train to Portsmouth, then short ferry trip to the island) and go to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, which is connected to the main railway line running down the eastern side of the island.

The Severn Valley would be a rather longer trip, and none of the Welsh lines are IMO practical as a day trip from London.

Thank you---this is brilliant, as you say in the UK. ( we would say "fantastic"but maybe that has a different meaning there).

I checked the three most promising railways mentioned, and it appears the Watercress and Severn Valley lines run "weekends only" in October. The Bluebell offers special "Autumn Tint" service weekdays in October.

I could change up the order of our trip to put the London week at the beginning instead of the end as I originally planned. We arrive in London 23 Sept., and I had thought to go to Venice first, while the ferries to Rovinj are still running. Then Rome for a week, and back to London. If I put London first, we would likely be there during the Thames festival, which is appealing, and also have weekday options for the steam trains. And we still might make it to Venice in time for a short break in Rovinj, if this year's schedule is any indication--- the Venezia Line ferries ran to Oct. 4. That would indicate service through Saturday Oct. 3 next year ( but of course things could change).

That makes a better trip for us in many ways----I would rather be in London sooner, when the days are a bit longer, and in Venice later, although I know it won't make too much difference with the crowds. Last October they did not diminish noticeably until after mid-month, but we learned how to avoid them.

So this is a positive development! My son and family could join us in London for a bit, and then head to Wales when we leave for Italy if they haven't had their fill of trains yet. I am certain they would enjoy Wales---we spent a few days walking there last May and loved it. Food, hospitality, and scenery were all top-notch. But I will save my Wales train inquiry until they have a chance to consider the trip.

I've taken this one from Paignton to Kingswear and then you can take a super quick ferry across the river to visit Dartmouth. http://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/days-out/steam-train-3/steam-train-2

If you are now considering Wales in some manner , have a look at the Blaenau Ffestiniog railway . The train runs all the time ( some schedule modifications in October ) and goes from the slate quarries in Blaenau , about five miles west of Betws y Coed , to the harbor in Porthmadog fourteen miles . This is a very scenic trip in Snowdonia and the history of the line and its restoration is fascinating . A bonus is the steam hauled trains often run using Fairlie locomotives which are the prototype for trains of the twentieth century that run on articulated bogies . Seeing these wonderful trains ( with a collection of restored miscarriages) was a real treat . The line is also a two foot narrow gauge line which added to the romance of rail for me .

Bloody hell ! Please forgive the typo above . I 'm too tired to figure out the correction on this tablet .

There is a train that runs to Bodiam castle from a nearby town, its about a 30 minute ride and great scenery.

Should anybody reading this be interested in going by steam train on the main lines, then this is the site to search the dates and then go to the relevant operators website:http://www.uksteam.info/tours/

If visiting Wales and wishing to fly to Venice, it is probable that direct flights can be found from Manchester or Birmingham airports - which are nearer to Wales than London. To discover if such flights exist - and who operates them, go to www.skyscanner.net and tick the box for a whole month to be shown. Then select FROM Venice to UK - it is easier to establish the routes in reverse - and see which UK airports come up. (You are also likely to discover transatlantic flights into Manchester & Birmingham).

The one by Bodiam Castle is the Kent and East Sussex Railway. I wouldn't recommend this one so much, as it is more difficult to get to from London by public transport.