Heritage railways has now become much more than a few dedicated enthusiasts maintaining old railways and has become a major indusry involved in tourism, filming and even PR work.

Some of the railway companies are once again providing busy commuter routes such as the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway while others operate trains for the many visitors that want to travel along old country railway tracks to stations in the middle of nowhere, just for the fun of it. More than 6 million people now visit Heritage Railways each year.

There are now about 108 railway companies, about 60 Steam operators, throughout the United Kingdom and Eire and a track mileage over 400 miles including 302 stations, (more than the London Underground system and greater than the distance between London and Glasgow). This could increase to around 600 miles in the future due to new railways & planned extensions to existing track.

As for those now involved either by direct employment or volunteers, Heritage Railways has many thousands working to keep the track, stations and rolling stock in good order. With over 1300 steam Locomotives and the hundreds of diesel and electric Locomotives joining the stock there is no shortage of work and growth in the industry. The Heritage Railway Association promotes its members and ensures the safety of all its operations. There are about 180  workshops which carry out maintenance, repairs and even new builds of locomotives and other rolling stock. Some of the heavy engineering workshops are  providing facilities for main line manufacturers.

It is belived that Some of the larger Heritage Railways use over 2000 tons of coal each year, total coal bills of over £100,000 are not unknown.

The National Railway Museum at York was named as one of England's top tourist attractions and expects to welcome around 800,000 visitors each year.