Excursion special rolls back the years as it heads from King’s Cross to York - and arrives bang on time
Commuters waiting to catch their morning train into London were treated to a picture from the past at Hitchin railway station on Thursday morning.
Steaming through the station en route from London to York was a steam special operated by a specialist company.
The Steam Dreams charter which stopped at Hitchin to pick up passengers on its way from King’s Cross to York was hauled by locomotice 61306 Mayflower. It was built in 1948 and is one of only two examples of the B1 Thompson class still running.
Enthusiast Michael Cooper, who took the pictures, said: “The train left London at 07.26am and stopped at Hitchin at 08.26am, arriving at York at 1.16pm, which was the scheduled arrival time.
“To get from London to York on a 67-year-old train exactly on time is a fantastic effort, considering today’s modern trains often run late.”
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