Unusual gifts for train lovers they won't have seen before

Unusual gifts for train lovers are hard to find because the usual ones (books, models, mugs) have mostly been given already. The gifts that surprise a rail fan tend to be either live, like a departure board showing real trains from their own station, or lived, like a turn on the footplate of a steam engine. Neither ends up as another thing on the shelf.

What's an unusual gift for someone who loves trains?

Something they wouldn't think to buy for themselves. Most train fans already own the books, and some will have done a footplate day, but hardly any have a proper amber departure board in the hallway showing whether the 08:14 is on time.

That's the test worth applying: would they have bought it already? If the answer is "probably", keep looking.

A live departure board for their own station

This is the one that tends to get a double take. TrainTicker Desktop is a 320 x 80 mm amber LED board laid out like the ones on British platforms. Set to any National Rail station in Great Britain, it shows the next train's time, destination, platform and status, with the calling points scrolling underneath and a clock with seconds along the bottom. The times are live, from Darwin, National Rail's train information system, checked every 10 seconds.

The unusual part is how personal you can make it. It could show:

• the station they commute from, so they know when to leave
• the station in the town where they grew up
• a busy junction they love, like York, Crewe or Clapham Junction
• the station they worked at for years

It costs £199.99 once, with no subscription, and the train times are free for life. If you want to see it before buying, the free live demo runs in a browser for any station with no signup. Our explainer on what a home train departure board is covers the details.

Railway experiences most people never think of

Experiences are the other route to an unusual present. A few worth looking into:

• Footplate or driver experience days. Many heritage railways sell them, from short taster sessions to full days. Riding on (or driving) a steam locomotive is a proper once-in-a-lifetime present for a lot of enthusiasts.
• A sleeper berth. The Caledonian Sleeper runs from London Euston to Scotland, and the Night Riviera from London Paddington to Penzance. Going to sleep in London and waking up in the Highlands or Cornwall is still a bit magical. Our guide to sleeper trains in Britain explains how they work.
• A steam railtour. Railtour operators run steam-hauled specials over the main line through the year. Tickets for the popular ones go quickly, so keep an eye out.
• A dining train. Several heritage lines run dining services where you eat while the countryside rolls past.

Dates, prices and age rules vary by operator, so check before you buy. Our train experience gifts guide has more on each.

Gifts that support the railways they love

Lots of Britain's heritage railways are run largely by volunteers and kept going by members and donations. That opens up some gifts that are almost never duplicates.

A membership of their favourite heritage line is a good one. Benefits differ from railway to railway, so check what's included. A donation in their name to a restoration appeal is another, and some lines run schemes to sponsor part of a restoration (worth asking about). For someone with time on their hands, offering to go along to a volunteer open day with them can lead to a whole new hobby.

Odd and lovely bits

Smaller ideas with a bit of character:

• An old timetable or route map from the year they were born, hunted down from a second-hand bookshop or an online seller.
• A framed print of an old railway poster for the resort they always holidayed in.
• A photo book of their own railway photographs. Gather the best ones from their phone and get them printed.
• A railway atlas with their favourite lines marked in pen, for the planner in your life.

Unusual train gifts compared

Get the timing right

Experiences and memberships can usually be bought right up to the day. A TrainTicker ships within 3 to 4 weeks, so if it's for Christmas or a birthday, order in good time. Tick the gift option at checkout to add a note (printed on the packing slip, with no prices shown), and add the recipient's email if you'd like us to send them their setup code and a short how-to when it ships.

Still stuck? Our guide to gifts for the train lover who has everything picks up where this one leaves off.