Steam Train Leaves Southend Central for Chester, 19 Nov

A charter train will leave Southend Central at 06.35 on Thursday 19 November 2026 bound for Chester Christmas Market, calling at Leigh-on-Sea five minutes later. It is booked back into Leigh at 22.40 and Southend Central at 22.50 (Steam Dreams).

The train runs in vintage carriages the whole way. The steam locomotive joins it after it has skirted London, so the operator describes the journey as steam hauled from West London to Chester on the outward leg only. The engine rostered is 70000 Britannia, a British Railways Standard class 7 built at Crewe in January 1951, though the operator says it cannot be guaranteed and may be substituted.

The timings

The train is due into Chester at 14.00 and leaves again at 17.20. That is three hours and twenty minutes in the city, against a door-to-door day of just over sixteen hours from Southend.

What is actually at the other end

Chester Christmas Market runs from 18 November to 22 December 2026 in Town Hall Square on Northgate Street. It has 80 traders around the town hall. On a Thursday it is open from 10.30am to 8pm, so the whole of the train’s stay falls inside opening hours, and the trip lands on the market’s second day (Visit Cheshire).

The operator also points passengers at the Rows, the two-level galleried arcades the city dates at around 700 years old, the cathedral, and the city walls, which it describes as the most complete in Britain.

What it costs

There are two classes on this train:

• First Class, from £245, non-dining. Tea, coffee and a welcome drink are included, you may bring your own picnic, and an afternoon tea can be added for a supplement.
• Pullman Dining, from £465. A Champagne Bellini and a multi-course breakfast on the way out, then Champagne and canapés followed by a four-course dinner with half a bottle of wine each on the way back.

Both are per person and neither includes anything at the market. Bookings and questions go to the operator on 01483 209888.

What it means for you

This is an expensive day out, and it is worth being clear about what you are buying. At £245 you are paying for the journey rather than the shopping. A scheduled service to Chester would cost far less and would leave you longer in the city; what it would not give you is a heritage carriage, a steam-hauled run, or a direct departure and return from your own station.

Two practical points before booking. The 06.35 departure is early enough that you will need to work out how you get to the station, and the 22.50 return is a Thursday night, which matters if you are taking children.

If you would rather do Christmas closer to home, the city’s own festive programme usually appears on the council’s events pages in the autumn, and our things to do in Southend page covers what is open year round. For ordinary services to London and beyond, see Southend to London trains.