Cathedrals Express steam train visit wows nostalgic enthusiasts at Portsmouth Harbour

MEMORIES of a bygone age of steam train travel were re-lived by those who turned out in droves to watch an 80-year-old locomotive pass through Portsmouth.
Steam Train in Portsmouth - The black locomotive and train approach Havant Station (unfortunately there was not much steam)
Picture: Vernon Nash (180388-0026) PPP-180206-181932006Steam Train in Portsmouth - The black locomotive and train approach Havant Station (unfortunately there was not much steam)
Picture: Vernon Nash (180388-0026) PPP-180206-181932006
Steam Train in Portsmouth - The black locomotive and train approach Havant Station (unfortunately there was not much steam) Picture: Vernon Nash (180388-0026) PPP-180206-181932006

On Saturday The Cathedrals Express, hauled by Black Five steam locomotive 45212, took almost 300 passengers on a day trip from Portsmouth Harbour from London Victoria.

And it was the first time a steam train has visited the city since 2011.

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The train then picked up about 150 passengers from Portsmouth & Southsea station for an afternoon tour to Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Steam Train in Portsmouth - The black locomotive and train approach Havant Station (unfortunately there was not much steam)
Picture: Vernon Nash (180388-0026) PPP-180206-181932006Steam Train in Portsmouth - The black locomotive and train approach Havant Station (unfortunately there was not much steam)
Picture: Vernon Nash (180388-0026) PPP-180206-181932006
Steam Train in Portsmouth - The black locomotive and train approach Havant Station (unfortunately there was not much steam) Picture: Vernon Nash (180388-0026) PPP-180206-181932006

Ray Schofield, 70, travelled from Bedford to photograph the train, and said: ‘I’ve been a train enthusiast all my life.

‘Portsmouth Harbour station is somewhere I’ve never taken a photograph before so I knew it would be interesting to come down.

Steam trains pull into stations regularly all around the country, but a steam locomotive hasn’t been into Portsmouth Harbour for years, it’s not a very common thing.

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‘When you find out more about them you realise they’re much more interesting than modern or diesel forms, where it’s a case of pressing a button and off you go.

‘With a steam engine there’s a lot of preparation you have to plan and organise.’

LMS Stanier Black Five 45212 was built in 1935. In 2017 it was re-fitted and certified for main line use.

The 45212 is one of 842 ‘Black Fives’ that were built for the London Midland and Scottish Railway.

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In 1968, the engine headed the last steam-hauled revenue-earning service for British Railways in 1968.

Clive James, 64 from Gosport, said at the station: ‘The atmosphere here is great, when you see one of these trains coming into a station you know it.

‘It’s very nostalgic for me because I was brought up with steam trains.’