Almost as keen on steam trains as I am on theatre, I could hardly resist the two-pronged appeal of The Railway Children. This hugely acclaimed adaptation of Edith Nesbit’s classic children’s story — previously seen at the National Railway Museum in York — is being staged in the former Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station. Demand for tickets is so high that bookings are now being taken into the New Year.

Besides giving us an exceptionally well-handled version of the familiar story, the production comes with the bonus of a real locomotive. And not just any locomotive but one of the stars of the national collection — the Great Northern Railway’s Stirling Single, No.1. For three decades following its construction in 1870, the engine represented the acme of railway elegance and speed.

Director Damian Cruden wisely rations its appearances in order that when they occur they become the big events they are intended to be. That the locomotive puffs into view hauling the very carriage used in the much-loved 1970 film version makes for even greater excitement. Up till then the passage of trains through Oakworth station has been suggested by clever use of effects — plumes of smoke and a pounding roar of exhaust that sends vibrations through the tiered seating on either side of the tracks.

The action takes place in a performance area along the platforms and sometimes on wheeled wooden platforms — the repetition, I fear, is unavoidable — which are pushed by stage hands up and down the tracks.

Joanna Scotcher’s designs, with some superb period costumes, give the full flavour of life in Edwardian England and provide a convincing background for the action-packed story of the three children.

This is told by writer Mike Kenny, in a deviation from the original, as a tale looked back on from adulthood. This means, of course, that the audience sees nothing wrong in the casting of grown-ups —presumably a necessity where a production like this is concerned — in the roles of the youngsters. It allows, too, for welcome comedy as they reflect in maturity on some of the gaucheries of their youth.

Rich humour, and not a little social comment, is found in the clash between their middle-class upbringing and the lifestyle of the rugged Yorkshire folk they come to live among after their enforced ‘exile’ from London. “You’re not from round here, are you?” becomes a comic leitmotif in early scenes.

There are fine performances throughout the cast. Sarah Quintrell, Louisa Clein and Nicholas Bishop, as the children, naturally dominate the action, but there is much enjoyment, too, from the work of Caroline Harker as the trio’s refined and leftward-leaning mother, a character who had much in common with her creator. Marshall Lancaster excels as the friendly — but not-to-be-patronised — porter Mr Perks, and David Baron is warmly avuncular as their generous benefactor, the Old Gent.

If the production has one fault it is that Christopher Madin’s excellent, atmospheric music is often played too loudly, to the extent of drowning out key passages of dialogue.

Bookings: Telephone 0871 297 0740.