COMMUTERS got a bit of a shock Wednesday morning when it appeared that the 8.33am to London Paddington had morphed into the Hogwarts Express.

But the steam locomotive was in fact a special charter train on a 14-hour round trip to the Devon coast.

Up to 300 railway enthusiasts and holidaymakers took a step back in time as they boarded the Cathedrals Express. Duty station manager Kevin Knight was at the platform when the locomotive pulled up.

The 33-year-old said: “In previous times people have asked us if this is the London train. There were about 20 and 30 train enthusiasts who came and took pictures of the train.”

“It’s quite regular we get them, they usually come through every couple of months.”

Built in 1948, the steam engine was called the Mayflower was primarily used to travel regularly between East Anglia and Scotland and is one of only two surviving B1 locomotives that could reach a top speed of 75mph. It is preserved for special charters by Guildford-based company Steam Dreams, run by the relatives of Wombles author Elisabeth Beresford.

Passengers on the train were taken on a route from Oxford to the coastal town of Kingswear in Devon.

The train also travelled along the Dawlish Wall, which was partly destroyed last year in the during Atlantic storms in February.