Steam

Is railway nostalgia a uniquely British thing? Do the Dutch go weak at the knees whenever a steam locomotive hones into view? Is Italy getting covered in heritage rail lines? Are there societies in the Japan dedicated to the preservation of obsolete Diesel locomotives? I don’t know the answer to those questions, though I’m aware that heritage railway lines are not restricted to the UK. I don’t think any country goes as far as ours, however. One website I found 181 different heritage railways and tramways listed in the UK, Isle of Man and Ireland. It is clear that old trains are a big draw, not only for a day out but for those who give up their time to keep these examples of industrial archaeology alive. Whilst there are those concerned with preserving diesel and electric locomotives, it is fair to say that the main draw is the steam locomotive. It’s been over fifty years since steam hauled trains ran regular scheduled services on the UK’s mainline network but the desire to experience steam power first hand is, it appears, stronger than ever. Perhaps it is because the British invented them. Richard Trevithick made the first full sized steam locomotive, John Blenkinsop the first that was commercially successful and, most famously of all, George Stephenson produced the first that would haul passengers. Other countries may well do railways better now but we’ve always got this to be proud of.

There’s just something about steam locomotives that stirs the senses. The sound, smells and sight of one puts a smile on your face. Even those who have no interest in trains turn their heads when a steam train goes past. Ask anyone to draw a train and you are likely to be presented with one with steam emerging from a stack at the front. Despite diesel and electric trains having ruled the roost for fifty years, there is still a big market for those wishing to experience the power of steam. Earlier this year I decided that it would be a nice day out to go on a steam excursion. An internet search revealed many to choose from. These take place on the national rail network and by and large utilise preserved engines and rolling stock. I say by and large as there are engines out there that have been built from scratch quite recently. One, named Tornado, is almost as popular as the preserved examples despite it being built by a charitable trust in 2008. It was the first steam locomotive to be built in Britain since 1960. Even more popular than Tornado is the Flying Scotsman, arguably the most famous steam locomotive in the world. Built in 1923, this engine has been active on and off since being spared the scrapman’s blowtorch in 1963. Excursions hauled by Flying Scotsman command premium fares.

The excursion that I chose was not hauled by either of these fine locomotives. The LMS Coronation Class 4-6-2 Pacific 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, a locomotive popular enough to have its own Facebook page, was on duty. The excursion, which I took with my two brother-in-laws Andrew and Martin, was called the West Somerset Steam Express and organised by The Railway Touring Company. This commenced at Paddington Station and headed westward to Taunton after which it left the national rail network joined the heritage line of the West Somerset Railway. At Bishops Lydeard the Duchess was replaced by one of the WSR’s own locomotives and the tour continued to Minehead, the terminus of the WSR. We were then to retrace our steps back to Paddington where we were due to arrive the best part of fifteen hours after we’d set off. There were three levels of service we could choose from, Standard Class, First Class, and Premier Class. The latter was First Class with breakfast and dinner served at the seat and is what we opted for. Our seats were at the very back of the last carriage for the ‘down’ (ie, outward) journey meaning we would be next to the engine on the ‘up’ journey back to Paddington. The prospect of the steam, smoke and ash coming through the window on that return leg was quite appealing.

We departed at the appointed hour, 8am, and were soon tucking into a Full English served by the attentive on board crew as we headed through the London suburbs towards Reading. Here we left the GWR mainline to Bristol and headed down the Taunton line before the first of two scheduled stops to take on water. One of the disadvantages of steam power is that it needs water to make the steam and steam locomotives need a lot of steam so are particularly thirsty. On a steam excursion this is no real problem as these stops provide good photo opportunities and the passengers on board like nothing better than taking photos. So do other folk. Many steam geeks were spotted on the way with their cameras and tripods at the ready. Other people just stood in awe and watched as the Duchess and her eleven carriages thundered past. The power of steam extends beyond mere traction it would seem. The top speed recorded was 75mph, nothing compared to the modern Azumas that regularly whizzed past us, but with a full head of steam it felt as though we were the fastest people on the planet at that time. It was a marvellous feeling. At Frome we took on more water courtesy of the local Fire Brigade, took more photos, before we eventually made Taunton. A normal train would have got us there a couple of hours earlier but where would have been he fun in that? Another wait at Taunton (more photos) followed before we finally crossed the points at Norton Fitzwarren that took us on to the West Somerset Railway and its southerly terminus at Bishops Lydeard. Aren’t place names in this neck of the woods wonderful?

Here, a lengthy break ensued as Duchess was taken off to the engine shed for a well earned rest and one of the WSR locomotives, the 1925 vintage 53808. A former freight hauler, this engine was not nearly important enough to have a name but it had sufficient horsepower to haul ten coaches (one coach remained with Duchess) and several hundred passengers to Minehead. The excitement amongst those passengers reached fever pitch as the engine change meant even more photo opportunities. I mean two steam locos in the same shot? Does it get any better? Once coupled up to 53808 we set off north towards Minehead. The WSR has been a heritage railway since the mid-seventies. It has one of the longest tracks too, twenty miles, with seven stations and one unstaffed halt between the two terminuses at Bishops Lydeard and Minehead. It is a single track with passing loops and this combined with a top speed of 25mph, means a journey from one end to another takes an hour and twenty minutes. On this section of the trip we certainly didn’t feel like the fastest people on the planet but the West Somerset scenery is very pleasing on the eye and of course the extra stops meant more photos as the WSR’s normal services were allowed to pass. At Minehead we had two hours to wander round the place. We each had a cake. It was huge.

Nice though Minehead was in the summer sunshine it acted merely as a break for the steam nostalgia. Back at the station we boarded our carriage, now at the front of the train just behind 53808’s tender, and settled down for the return journey. The slow journey back to Bishops Lydeard saw commencement of the dinner service, the soup dispensing waiting staff glad of the leisurely pace we were making on WSR rails. Arriving at Bishops Lydeard where we were due to reacquaint ourselves with the Duchess of Sutherland there was an announcement. The Duchess had, apparently, been a naughty girl on the earlier outbound journey. The cinders she belched out had caused two separate trackside fires near Castle Cary and Network Rail were none too pleased. They slapped a blanket ban on steam services on their tracks and as a result we were marooned at Bishops Lydeard. Here’s a thought though – back in the day when Britain was covered in railway lines and steam locomotives were everywhere, did the country come ablaze with trackside fires every time there was a dry spell? How on earth did we cope? We were informed that a diesel locomotive had been summonsed and was making its way from Southall near London to rescue us. In the mean time we were served the rest of our dinner to the sound of people moaning about ‘health and safety’ rather than the music of pistons and the rattle of train on track.

Eventually the diesel locomotive turned up and we pulled out of Bishops Lydeard some two hours behind schedule. In itself the replacement locomotive was something of a museum piece. A Class 47, it had been one of several hundred of the type that earned its keep in the sixties and seventies, doing the sort of things steam locomotives had been doing a decade earlier only without setting the embankments on fire. It is rare nowadays to get a train that is locomotive hauled as most modern trains are multiple carriage sets with the diesel or electric motors, and sometimes both, built in. In a way it made the journey back to Paddington even more unique but it was scant consolation for missing out on our chance to be next to the Duchess literally going full steam ahead. The vague smell of diesel fumes did not compensate for missing out on nostrils full of smoke and steam, ash in our hair or indeed the unique sounds of steam power. On the plus side a Class 47 does not need to stop to take on water and it made up nearly all the time we had lost by travelling at a constant 70mph between Taunton and Reading. We pulled into Paddington just twenty minutes late.

Whilst the enforced engine change was disappointing, it was a grand day out. It is one we want to repeat, not on the same trip but one of the many others there are to choose from. The Premier dining seats weren’t particularly cheap but the experience was good, as was the food served so I’m glad we did it. Maybe next time I’d stick to the normal First Class seats and take a picnic or just buy stuff from the buffet car. In an adjacent carriage there appeared to be a party going on with several couples having brought their own liquid catering. Some of them seemed somewhat inebriated by the time we reached Reading. That’s Reading on the way out, not the way back. It is a long time in a train seat so I’d probably pass on the standard class seats though they would certainly have a bit of retro charm about them. For the first half hour at least.

A few days later I discovered this video on You Tube. It shows the West Somerset Steam Express thundering past the Crofton Beam Engines in Wiltshire alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal:

By pure chance I took a photograph out of the window as we passed that very spot, hoping to capture some steam, a narrowboat and a lock in the one frame. I inadvertently captured the guy who made the video too, slightly obscured by steam.