Steam returns to Waterloo after 52 years: A first look at the new routes

It has been a long time since steam trains have regularly run in and out of London Waterloo station – 52 years to be precise. So commuters at the station on Tuesday could be forgiven for thinking they were imagining things when the first of a new series of journeys by steam train puffed its way out of the station on its way to Windsor at just past 8 o’clock in the morning.

The new journeys have been introduced by the Steam Dreams company (steamdreams.co.uk) and will consist of three trips to Windsor every Tuesday and a picturesque evening jaunt through the Surrey Hills with the option of a full dining service.

Unlike the vast majority of steam charters which run on the mainline , the new series – called Royal Windsor Steam Express and Sunset Steam Express respectively – are aimed towards tourists and first-timers, rather than railway enthusiasts, with the mantra being that it is an inexpensive way to travel in style. 

Prices for the Windsor trains which take a little over an hour, and are one-way only – with passengers required to buy a return ticket for a South Western Railway service train back to Waterloo – start from £35 for standard class, rising to £85 for a champagne brunch option.

The evening circular, which runs for four hours and takes in 83 miles worth of line, is priced from £49 in standard and £99 in Premier Dining, which includes a three-course meal silver-served during the journey.

‘Express’ is a loose interpretation of the word for the Windsor trains – I travelled on one of the first services and the speed did not exceed more than 40mph. The evening circular, however, allowed the locomotive – the 1948-built LNER B1 Class ‘Mayflower’ – to stretch its legs once it had wound its way out of the capital, with steam drifting past the windows at all times. 

Stepping aboard is like stepping into a time warp; the ‘B1’ hauls beatifically restored BR Mk1 carriages – all with opening windows, allowing you to hear the locomotive hard at work – which in the dining classes are dressed up with linen tablecloths and attentive stewards. 

On the evening trip, the food keeps on coming as briskly as the ‘B1’ is running, to the soundtrack of the clitter-clatter of the wheels on the track, the wail of the locomotive’s whistle and the rhythmic beat from the two cylinders upfront.

The food wasn't bad either: everything is cooked and freshly prepared by the company’s head chef in the kitchen car. The menu on the evening tour consisted of sharing platter of smoked salmon, mackerel and horseradish tian, the main, chicken breast, potatoes and vegetables in a creamy sauce while the desert consisted of chocolate sauce, berry compote, raspberry and caramel crisp. It’s as good as you’d get in London restaurant, with the added bonus of a large picture window to look out with the world passing by. 

Scenically, the evening charter is the better of the two options; a lot of the route to Windsor passes through suburbia. 

Of course going in and out of the country’s busiest station aboard a noisy steam locomotive is hardly the most inconspicuous thing you can do, and the reactions from those waiting for their train to or from work vary from amazement to confusion or – in the case of younger commuters – no reaction at all, too busy glued to their smartphones. 

Although the first train only ran this week, David Buck, the owner of Steam Dreams, confirmed the trains will run again next year, potentially on a second day, owing to the number of advance bookings made by those who want to experience the golden age of travel. He did, however, suggest that he would be pitching the Windsor route towards a different demographic than the company’s usual clientele. 

“I thought we should broaden our horizons and go for a different customer-base because the sort of people who we get on our trains normally [the company runs around 50 day trips a year, primarily out of London to various destinations in the South West, the Midlands, South East and the North] tend to be retired people with time on their hands,” he said.

“And what I wanted to do was open up steam travel to the younger generation. You can only do that if you get the prices down to something a bit more sensible than what we charge for a day trip because it isn't cheap to run steam on the national network.”

So if you’ve always wondered what it is like to ride on board a proper steam train without breaking the bank, the new tours could be for you.

Essentials

The Tuesday trips to Windsor from London Waterloo last about 90 minutes and run every week until September 3, departing at 08.05, 11.18 and 14.09. The evening circular trip through the Surrey Hills departs at 19.25, also on Tuesdays. From £35 (Windsor); £49 (evening circular).

More information 01483 209 888; royalwindsorsteamexpress.co.uk
 or sunsetsteamexpress.co.uk.