Steam into a wild experience as driver of zoo’s Jumbo Express

Well, I was. Until I took on a mode of transport quite unlike anything I’ve ever driven before at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Never afraid of a challenge, I donned blue overalls and steel toe capped boots to take part in the new Steam Train Driver For The Day experience at the zoo, which was one of the most interesting things I’ve done in my time as a reporter.

For steam train enthusiasts it is a dream come true, but even if it is not a passion, the workings of the machine are fascinating – and the view is wild and wonderful.

The Jumbo Express, as the train is known to zoo visitors, follows a two-mile circuit track which passes Indian rhinos, Asian elephants and emu, and through paddocks of camels, yak and deer.

And apart from the hazard of having the deer try to cross the track as you approach – thankfully a sharp pull on the whistle soon made them flee – the sight of animals welcoming the locomotive as you steam past is quite magical in the morning.

The elephants trumpeted a hello and the rhinos ran alongside us during the first lap of the track.

And railway engineer Kevin Edwins admitted the zoo environment makes the train experience even more special.

He said: “You’ve got some pretty rare animals you are going by and these are rare engines. Plus we are the only narrow gauge railway in the area operating driving courses for the public.”

Kevin was my teacher, assisted by driver engineer Ian Cliff. Both were surprisingly calm as I took the reins, and never seemed to flap – not even when I accidentally caused the train to slip on the track while going through a tunnel.

Their measured instructions and control made for a pleasurable and panic-free experience, and their obvious passion for their work and endless knowledge is impressive.

I was surprised to find that on the footplate (where you stand to drive the train) there is only room for four pairs of feet but despite the chilly temperatures, the coal-burning fire for the steam is enough to keep you toasty warm on the trip.

And the train controls are actually a lot like a car.

To accelerate, you increase the amount of steam by tugging on a lever. To stop, you use one of three brakes, depending whether you have carriages attached and are moving or stationary. To change direction there is the train equivalent of a huge gear stick to move the machine forward or backwards.

I took the controls of 90-year-old locomotive Superior, the bigger of the two steam engines at Whipsnade.

Kevin said: “In the past two years Superior has done the majority of the work. Excelsior is 102 this year.

“Every winter we’ve done jobs on her to make her better and better and we’ve been using Superior, so Excelsior’s been out all year to make up the mileage.

“Superior has done about 800 or 900 miles this year but Excelsior has done about 3,000 going round and round all day. She’s having a rest now after doing all the summer season.”

Thankfully for zoo guests, I was not let loose with passengers in my five carriages – apart from Whipsnade staff – but by the third trip around the track I had almost mastered the steady pull out from the platform and slowing to a stop, without jolting those on board too much.

Ian confided that the weather conditions – grey, drizzly and generally miserable – were the most difficult to drive in and helped me to control the train by putting sand on the tracks as we drove.

“We go through around one tonne of sand every year for wet weather, oily tracks or ice,” he said.

And you can believe it, as the train goes round the track 11 times per day, whatever the weather.

And although the 14 railway staff – four full time and 10 part time – spend their days looking after the track and carriages, busying themselves with maintenance work, heavy engineering and painting, for the Steam Train Driver For A Day it is just the driving that fills the six-hour experience.

“It’s only a few trips less mileage than we normally do and you get to experience what it is like going round this circuit,” said Kevin.

And, after three goes zipping around the track, climbing slopes, controlling the train as it hurtles downhill and sounding the whistle, I would recommend it wholeheartedly.