Glory days of steam return

An historic train steamed in to Wolverhampton this morning to take enthusiasts on a romantic trip to Liverpool.The Merseyside Express last ran through the region in 1962 on its way between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.

At that time the train, pulled by the record-breaking London, Midland & Scottish Railway locomotive No.6201 Princess Elizabeth, never stopped in the West Midlands.

But today, after "Lizzie" picked up the carriages from Bescot Yard, in Walsall, she travelled to Wolverhampton to collect her first passengers.

Then the engine, which was built in 1933, left for Birmingham International for a second pick-up before going on to Liverpool, stopping only at Crewe to take on water.

After leaving Wolverhampton at 10.53am the train was expected to reach speeds of up to 75mph on the West Coast Main Line through Penkridge and Stafford en route to Lime Street, crossing the River Mersey at Runcorn.

Travellers could enjoy a silver service meal during the journey but many spotters were just content to wait around in the cold to get a glimpse of the renowned engine for the 10 minutes it stopped at Wolverhampton station.

Lizzie, named after the future queen when she was just seven years old, has held the world record for continuous high-speed travel by any steam locomotive since 1936.

It set the record by recording an average speed of 68mph over 800 miles. On some sections of the journey the engine was averaging more than 90mph with a top speed of 95mph. Driver Tom Clark was awarded the OBE and always insisted the engine would easily have exceeded 100mph.

Chris Williamson, aged 58, from Wednesfield, said he was a railway enthusiast who had actually built a model of the Merseyside Express.

He said: "It's just a nostalgic day. Most people of my generation were trainspotters so it's bringing back some nice memories.

"This is obviously an historic engine because of the record it holds and we don't get enough of these steam trains coming through Wolverhampton."

By Transport Reporter Daniel Pountney