A heritage railway ( United Kingdom ) , preserved railway ( United Kingdom ) , or tourist railroad ( United States and Canada ) is a term used for a railway which is run as a tourist attraction , is usually but not always run by volunteers , and seeks to re-create railway scenes of the past . A heritage railway ( United Kingdom , Australia and Canada ) , preserved railway ( United Kingdom and Australia ) , tourist railway ( Australia ) , or tourist railroad ( United States ) is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction , in some cases by volunteers , and which typically seeks to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past ( though not all tourist railways are heritage railways ) .