A piece of railway history will be calling at Crewe this year.

On Saturday 1 November 2025, a steam locomotive will head from Manchester Piccadilly through Heaton Chapel and Stockport and Crewe and ultimately onto Oxford and Reading.

Dubbed 'The Chiltern Explorer', it'll be a 'nostalgic charter train', pulled by a historic main line restored locomotive.

The train is expected to pass through Crewe at 9.05 pm where it will stop to pick up passengers.

It will call at some other stations along the way, including Wilmslow and Crewe.

The journey promises to be an exciting one, and not just for the steam locomotive pulling the train. It will comprise a stretch of the 'varsity line' between Oxford and Cambridge, which was closed in 1967 to passenger services.

This trip will therefore be the first time a steam train has run on this particular section of line since 1967.

The train stops at Oxford, and incorporates a historic stretch of the railway network which last saw a passenger service in 1967 (Image - Benjamin Elliott / Unsplash)

The train stops at Oxford around 1.20pm, and Reading at 2pm. Passengers can hop off and enjoy the sights for a few hours before the train returns a few hours later.

It'll be back in Crewe at 9.05 pm on Saturday.

However, the return journey will be diesel hauled - so train enthusiasts looking to spot the steam locomotive will have to get up early to do so!

Fares start from £115 per adult, £85 for juniors, or £358 for a family ticket.

The trip is being organised by the Railway Touring Company.

A spokesperson said: "Join us on this unusual tour from Manchester to Oxford and Reading, featuring the newly reopened section of The East-West line from Bletchley to Bicester.

"The added attraction is for the journey to be steam hauled by a restored main line approved steam locomotive that will see a steam train return to this section of line for the first time since 1967."

Find tickets and more information here.

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