The Cathedrals Express: Redhill to Oxford

By mdavison

Passengers on the platform at Redhill Station gawped as the train arrived in clouds of steam on an icy winter's morning that had seen a sprinkling of snow before dawn.

I was waiting for the special steam train service which operates on selected days in the lead-up to Christmas and takes those with a few pence to spare to cathedral cities of England.

All of a sudden there was a puffing sound and the engine, Sir Nigel Gresley, chugged into Redhill Station on the down-line, enveloped in steam.

A young lady on the opposite platform took out her mobile phone and snapped the unusual sight, visibly smiling to herself.

A few other passengers appeared nonchalant at the spectacle and continued to show no emotion as the carriages were hauled away and the horn sounded. Others, however, seemed quite animated and chuckled among themselves.

A couple sitting opposite me had boarded the train at Victoria even though they lived in Redhill because they wanted to savour every minute of this historic trip.

A waitress came round with elevenses following a breakfast of scrambled egg and smoked salmon.

"That banana bread looks very nice," commented the lady, peering at the tray of small Bakewell tarts, cookies and other cakes.

"It's homemade," said her husband, who wore a late 1970s, three-piece finely checked suit and tie for the leisure excursion.

He was very well versed on the day's programme.

"We're stopping for water at Chilworth," he said knowledgeably.

His wife queried whether in the event of delays on the line, how would the driver know where to slow down.

"It's signal-controlled," snapped her husband rather impatiently. "All passenger trains are signal-controlled."

Another passenger was enthusiastically recalling another steam journey he had been on.

"We came to a vicious halt," he said. "It was the most vicious braking I'd ever known. We sat there and we sat there and we finished the meal but we weren't going anywhere. Eventually we were told that there'd been a bit of a problem – the radiator had broken."

Our superbly restored engine was built in the main locomotive works, The Plant, at Doncaster and released for service on October 30, 1937, two years before the start of the Second World War.

It was the 100th Gresley Pacific built by the London and Eastern Railway.

It is currently housed in North Yorkshire and is now used for special excursions.

Along the route, dozens of train-spotters were gathered on platforms and in fields, clasping tripods and cameras to capture the wonderful sight of a steam train running in Surrey in the 21st century.

Meanwhile, the lady opposite was making a list of memorable smells. She frowned as she pondered on aromas and whiffs of the past.

She pencilled her earliest memory of a fishmonger in Willesden.

"I can smell the carts now," she said dreamily. "My grandmother had fish like nobody's business. They used to sell live eels in bags and when I got home my dad would chop their heads off and slit their throats."

I gazed out and saw we were pulling into Guildford Station to more astonished looks.

"My grandmother used to stew the eels in milk with parsley.

"And nobody had mackerel then. That was for the cat. Those days we ate skate and halibut. The skate was fantastic. The fishmonger had a flat cap and a big white scarf he wore in a knot. His hands were red-raw from cutting up fish."

Her list also included Pontefract cakes and the sulphurous smell of train steam, like we were encountering today.

"It reminds me of the coal fires we would sit around at home," she added.

Another passengers recalled the same, adding: ". . . and getting chilblanes while warming your feet."

After passing through Reading and the furnaces at Didcot, we eventually arrived at chilly Oxford where some headed towards the carol concert in the 16th Century Christ Church Cathedral.

Meanwhile, the lady opposite chipped in: "I've just remembered the roasting of peanuts in Woolworth's when we were young."

After passing bicycle racks in Oxford and souvenir shops, we reached the cathedral and joined in a beautiful service led by the Precentor, who used to have a church in Purley.

He spoke about his fondness for steam travel and how one such excursion he had embarked on ended up unexpectedly in Scunthorpe where the passengers ended up in a fish and chip shop.

After a stroll around the city, it was time for tea.

Close to the cathedral is Cafe Loco where I headed to keep warm. I was joined by two residents of Merstham who were on the same train – former borough councillor Muriel Moore and her husband, Alan, a local historian.

Mrs Moore had bought tickets for the trip for her husband's special birthday (ending with a "0") this week.

We ordered mini mince pies and mugs of a creamy hot chocolate.

A little Christmas tree glowed in the corner, next to the Dickensian shop-front.

It was then time to head home in the dark on the Sir Nigel Gresley.

The engine was withdrawn from service by British Rail on February 2nd 1966 and was subsequently saved from scrapping by a small group of determined men who set up the A4 Preservation Society, now the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Preservation Trust Ltd.

Sitting on the train was one of the society's stalwart members, Bill Ascough, a former Reigate Town Hall official.

I disembarked at Redhill Station. The train's steam was a greeny colour as it absorbed the colour from the line signals.

Further details of steam excursions can be obtained from Steam Dreams, PO Box 169 Albury, Guildford GU5 9YS.