FUNNEL VISION

Waterloo first welcomed a steam train 171 years ago. It came into operation (as “Waterloo Bridge Station”; its name was changed in 1882) on July 11 1848 – but it isn’t the oldest railway terminus in central London; London Bridge opened in December 1836.

Waterloo was the last London terminus to wave off a scheduled steam-hauled train. This was a service to Bournemouth on July 9 1967. It attracted considerable attention from rail enthusiasts. The following day’s first service to Bournemouth was electrified.

Waterloo hosted a steam celebrity on June 8 1948 when Mallard chugged out of the station, bound for Exeter. The great LNER locomotive is better associated with the East Coast Main Line – where it set the world steam speed record (126mph) in 1938.

Steam made a reappearance at the station in 2010 – for a theatrical performance of Edith Nesbit’s

The Railway Children. The audience was seated on either side of a disused platform, with a steam locomotive trundling into view as part of the spectacle.

The Kinks’ single Waterloo Sunset was released just before the end of the steam era at the station, on May 5 1967. But the song was originally called “Liverpool Sunset”. Ray Davies decided that there were already enough songs about the home of the Beatles. large picture window to look out with the world passing by.

Scenically, the evening charter is the better of the two; 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.

Although the first train only ran early last month, David Buck, the owner of Steam Dreams, confirmed that 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 he would pitch 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 (the company runs primarily out of London to various destinations in the South West, the Midlands, the South East and the North) tend to be retired,” 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.

The Tuesday trips to Windsor from London Waterloo last about 90 minutes and run every week until Sept 3, departing at 8.05am, 11.18am and 2.09pm. The evening circular trip through the Surrey Hills departs at 7.25pm, also on Tuesdays. From £35 (Windsor); £49 (evening circular). For more information: call 01483 209888; or visit www. royalwindsorsteamexpress.co.uk or www.sunsetsteamexpress.co.uk.