
DOGS DAY OUT – 16 FEBRUARY 2025
“Can I bring my dog along?”
has been one of the most asked questions since Zig Zag Railway relaunched in 2023 and we are over the moon to bring that opportunity to life for all our dog-loving friends at our Dogs Day Out on Sunday the 16 February 2025.
Our very first Dogs Day Out will allow visitors to bring their furry friend for a heritage train ride not to forget.
Bookings are essential and every travelling pooch will receive a commemorative dog ticket on check in.
Special Zig Zag Railway doggy-themed merch will be available in our Clarence shop, and our Cafe will be serving puppa-chino’s for your pooch along with their regular, delicious options for the humans.
We’re excited to be hosting a special guest on the day, former radio presenter and now host of his very own podcast – Rabbit will be onsite with his amazing mobile podcasting studio, the PodVan.
Rabbit will be recording your stories throughout the day for a future episode of his popular podcast, so why not drop in, have a laugh, tell him about your pooch and why they get to ride our historic train with you? (Be sure to mention how great your trip was too, ok!)
Special event ticketing is in place and all dogs (and humans) must have a valid ticket purchased for the day.
Zig Zag Railway is a cashless facility for the safety of our volunteers.
This offer is valid only until all seats are booked out. No rain checks will be issued.
DOGS DAY OUT | TERMS AND CONDITIONS
We are excited to welcome you to our railway for our first Dogs Day Out event, please carefully read the following instructions to ensure that you and your dog have an enjoyable experience.
This is a designated dog-day event – on all normal operational days only service dogs are permitted to travel.
Special Dogs Day Out Tickets: To ensure the comfort and safety of all passengers, each dog in attendance is required to purchase a separate ticket at the reduced rate to ensure a “seat” is allocated for them on the train.
As a not-for-profit run by volunteers, we must make sure we are running sustainably to ensure we are covering our costs and planning for our heritage railways future. We have allocated the lowest-cost price to provide a “seat” space allocation for each dog (which on other occasions is booked at a higher-rate by human passengers) as well as the additional cleaning that will be required to host this much requested event.
Dog-Free Carriage: One carriage per trip will remain a dog-free zone for passengers not wishing to travel with our furry friends on the day.
📿 Dogs must be on their leashes at all times and ensure the dog is wearing a collar with identification details.
🗑️ The owner must responsibly dispose of any waste.
🐶 The owner is responsible for travelling with well-behaved dogs which do not have a history of behavioural problems or aggression that may pose a risk to other dogs or humans.
🐕 The owner is responsible for managing their dog around social environments and ensuring their dog is able to cope in close proximity to other dogs and humans for extended periods of time.
🏥 The owner will ensure that the dog is in good physical health and is up to date on all worming, flea treatment and vaccinations. The owner is also responsible for ensuring the dog is not suffering from any contagious illnesses, such as Canine cough, and has not displayed any symptoms of a contagious illness in the 21 days prior to travelling.
🙅 Customers who are not traveling with a dog can choose to sit in a separate dog free carriage BUT they must select the appropriate ticket/s during the booking process. Seats in the dog free carriage may sell out prior to other seats, passengers should choose another time &/or date if this occurs.
🏠 Dogs are not permitted in indoor areas including Clarence station or toilets
⏰ Arrive nice and early! Arriving at least 45mins before your trip will give you time to park, visit the cafe and restrooms, check in and get seats with your family and friends.
🚗 Leave plenty of time for travel, especially during school & on public holidays. If you are late, we cannot transfer you to another service as we are normally fully booked.
🥤Visit our on-site cafe at Clarence Station, the coffee is excellent and we have a wide variety of food and other drinks to purchase. You can also bring your own snacks and drinks to enjoy on the train. There are no food or drink facilities once you board the train.
🎟️ Check in on arrival and pick up your ticket(s) to board the train from our friendly volunteers in the station building
👶🏼 Remember children under 3yrs old are free when sitting on a parents lap. With most services sold out every day, we appreciate your help to keep seats free for those who have paid for them. If your child is the sort that will want their own seat, we suggest purchasing an extra ticket from them in advance.
🍑 Seats are for bottoms only. Please do not place your luggage on seats – these have been booked and paid for by other passengers. Please stay in your chosen seat for the entire journey, if you must change seats mid journey, please ensure that seat if free and you are not taking a seat belonging to another passenger.
❄️ Don’t forget the weather can be cooler than you expect. Bring warm clothes just in case – and remember, white is not a good colour around steam trains.
❌ We cannot accept transferred tickets – if you cannot attend please email us and we can arrange cancellation and credit for you if eligible. Do not purchase tickets from anywhere other than our website.
💺 Please be aware that Zig Zag Railway does not offer pre-booked individual seating. When our trains are fully booked it may not be possible for all members of a group to be seated together. We will do our best to facilitate your seating choice, but we cannot guarantee all passengers will travel in the seat of their first preference.
🚂 Zig Zag Railway operates heritage trains hauled by steam locomotives. There are infrequent occasions, such as days of very high fire danger, or for technical reasons, when a steam locomotive will need to be replaced by a diesel locomotive. This may occur without prior notice due to factors beyond the railway’s control, however we will do everything possible to provide a similar experience to the steam hauled train. Thank you for understanding.
📷 Have fun!!! Be sure to tag us in your photos so we can relive the day with you. We may also be filming and photographing during the day to capture images for publication on our website, booking system, social media, advertising etc. Attending indicates acknowledgment that your image may be used for promotional purposes.
