Gifts for the train lover who has everything

Finding gifts for train lovers who have everything is a proper headache. The shelves are full of books, the loft holds a layout, and they've had the mug, the tie and the tea towel several times over. The way through is to stop buying objects and choose something live, something lived, or something personal: a departure board showing real trains from a station they love, a day on a footplate, or a gift built from their own memories.

Why is it so hard to buy for train enthusiasts?

Because they've usually bought the obvious things themselves, often years ago, and everyone else has had the same ideas. Enthusiasts also tend to be particular. The wrong gauge, the wrong era or the wrong region and the gift ends up in a drawer.

So the question changes from "what train thing don't they have?" to "what train experience haven't they had?"

Something live: a board for their own station

A live departure board is one of the few physical train gifts that rarely duplicates anything. TrainTicker Desktop is an amber LED board, 320 x 80 mm, styled like the boards on British platforms. Set to any National Rail station in Great Britain, it shows the next trains with live times from National Rail's Darwin system, checked every 10 seconds, including platforms, expected times, cancellations with their reasons and calling points.

The station can be anywhere, which is where it gets personal:

• the station they commuted from for decades
• the one in the town they grew up in
• the station they worked at
• the junction where they first started spotting

It costs £199.99 once, with no subscription. They can change the station from the dashboard whenever they like, and you can try it in your browser on the free live demo first.

Experiences instead of objects

Experiences add a memory and take up no shelf space. For train lovers, the good ones include:

• A footplate or driver experience on a heritage railway. Many lines sell them, from short tasters to full days.
• A sleeper journey. The Caledonian Sleeper from London Euston to Scotland, or the Night Riviera from London Paddington to Penzance.
• A dining train on a heritage line, for a special occasion.
• A steam railtour on the main line, for the enthusiast who likes heritage traction on modern routes.
• A gala weekend on a heritage railway, with visiting engines and a busy timetable.

Each operator sets its own dates, prices and rules, so check before you buy. Our guide to train experience gifts in the UK goes through them.

Gifts with their own story in them

Personal gifts work because no shop can sell them. Ideas:

• A photo book of their own railway photographs, gathered from their phone or old prints.
• An old timetable or route map from a year that matters to them (the year they started work, the year they married), found second-hand.
• A framed print of an old poster for the place they always went on holiday by train.
• A map of their home line, framed, with their stations marked.
• A trip back to a line or station from their past, with you along for the ride.

Give something to the railway itself

Britain's heritage railways run largely on volunteers, members and donations, and many train lovers care deeply about one line in particular. That makes for some gifts that can never be duplicated:

• a membership of their favourite heritage railway (benefits vary by line)
• a donation in their name to a restoration appeal
• a sponsorship scheme, if the line runs one, for part of a locomotive or carriage restoration

Ask the railway how to buy these as gifts. Our heritage railways by region guide can help you find the right line.

Gifts for the train lover who has everything, compared

Getting the details right

A couple of practical points:

1. Allow time. TrainTicker ships within 3 to 4 weeks, and popular experience dates go early, especially in December.
2. Make the handover nice. Tick the gift option at checkout and add a note, which is printed on the packing slip (no prices shown). If you add their email, we'll send them their setup code and a short how-to when it ships.
3. Keep a safety net. TrainTicker has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and many experience vouchers can be moved to another date.

For people coming to the end of a railway career, our retirement gifts for railway workers guide has more ideas, and unusual gifts for train lovers covers a few more surprises.