Hereinafter are some useful advise to fully enjoy an enthusiastic trip as it is one on a historical train. Plan your journey and account for these little hints: you will turn an excursion into a fantastic day.

A historical train need some time to get organised: dates, routes and timetables could be confirmed from one month to just a few days before the day of the journey. Railtour Italia can help you to catch up with the latest updates.

Please note that admittance to some trains may be restricted to enthusiasts groups, schoolboys or incentive initiatives. On the other hand, some restricted access trains may admit passengers free of charge. So get in touch with the train organisers to be aware of all details.

As a normal practice, admittance to historical trains requires special tickets bought through channels indicated by the train's organizers: ordinary tickets or reductions or facilitations available on normal trains are not applicable.

Seats available on trains are limited: try to be informed in advance and if possible book your trip enough ahead the date of the journey.

It is pretty easy to get dirty when a steam engine hauls the train: casual clothes, dark colours and a cap are recommended. Goggles can avoid coke ashes in your eyes if you like to look out of the window during the trip.

Sometimes, you cannot reserve seats when you book your trip but you can seat anywhere once on board. Let family grups with children to seat close together.

All passengers will find their seats on fairly organised special trains but it might happen that you have to travel standing in some occasions. Should it be the case, take it easy: you are in a journey. A bar is normally available in the luggage car: take an opportunity to have your break.

It is recommended to close all windows when crossing a tunnel on steam engine hauled trains.

Sometimes a diesel or an electric loco can support the steam engine on very steep routes or branches with long tunnels. Enthusiasts might be very disappointed but... there are no alternatives.

During the journey there will be several stops: to top up the locomotive boiler with water, to load coal in the tender, to check the engine or to shot some photos. During these stops be always prudent and cautious. You are along a railway, therefore: remain on the platforms, do not cross the tracks, do not throw anything out of the windows, step off the train only when it is completely stopped, do not use the toilet during the train stops at a station. Shortly: follow thoroughly the crew's instructions, use your common sense and act not to harm you or your travel mates.

Most historical trains operations are supported by volounteers associations, whose commitment is not compensated. They sleep out during transfers as they must look after engines and rolling stock on night shift. Whenever the trains are recovered, volounteers help cleaning, maintaining and preserving the rolling stock. Their compensation is the pleasure and the satisfaction of keeping 'alive' locomotives and rolling stock which would otherwise be displayed in a museum -in the best case- or most likely be prone to offenses of wheather and writers. Though you have already paid a ticket to travel, buy liberally the merchandising (postcards, books, videocassettes, T-shirts, caps, calendars and other gadgets) the volounteers sell. Support these initiatives: travelling on historical trains might cost a lot more without the volounteers support.