While you won’t be able to use your Oyster card on these trains, they may look familiar. We’re accustomed to the Northern line stopping at stations like Battersea, Leicester Square, and Hampstead.

However, some locomotives have opted for a quieter life some 200 miles away from the city.

They’ve relocated to Alderney, a Channel Island that’s only three square miles in size and home to around 2,000 residents. These trains serve on the island’s only railway, transporting locals and tourists across the island.

Indeed, The Alderney Railway uses original Northern Line carriages that operated in London between 1959 and 2000. It’s a much more scenic route, whisking passengers along the coast, offering picturesque views of beaches and historic sites rather than dark, dingy tunnels.

“The carriages have been perfectly preserved and still boast an old London Tube map and the classic London Underground logo,” reports Secret Ldn. “Aside from now being run on a diesel engine locomotive, the trains themselves haven’t changed all that much”, reports The Mirror.

Starting at Braye Road Station, the train follows the coast until it passes Fort Albert – built in the 1850s – before heading inland through Corblets Quarry and ending up in Mannez Station.

Ticket prices for 2024 were listed at £10 for an adult return, or £6 for a single. Fares for children (aged 3-16) were £5 and £3 respectively while those under three could travel for free.

The Alderney Railway, unlike the bustling northern line, operates on a much smaller scale. In fact, it only runs at 2pm and 3.30pm on Saturdays from May to September.

Last year, on March 31, the train embarked on a special route for the Spring holidays. The Alderney Railway has a rich history, predating its receipt of locomotives from London.

It first opened its doors in 1847, a mere 22 years after the world’s first commercial railway. Originally used by the Admiralty, it carried its first passengers, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in a horse-drawn tender in April 1854.

“Its original purpose was to bring stone from the quarries for the construction of the breakwater. For the next 130 years the railway carried the stone for the necessary programme of continuous repair,” explains the railway’s website.

“In the mid 1970’s The British Home Office, responsible for maintenance and operation (there being only a minimal use of the track at this time), were approached to see if the line could be used for passenger transport. After several years, permission was obtained. Alderney Railway Society was established in 1978.”