WEYMOUTH is on track for a steamy summer.

A heritage rail company is to start running a weekly steam train service to the resort from London.

Trains carrying up to 446 day-trippers will be steaming into town every Wednesday during the holidays.

Passengers, who have to book their seats in advance, get to spend about three hours in Weymouth before the train heads back to the capital. People will be unable to travel one way from Weymouth.

The town has welcomed steam excursions before – the last one was in May – but weekly seaside summer specials are a first and should be a welcome boost to the economy, as well as an attraction for enthusiasts.

One of the trains will be down for Weymouth Carnival on August 18.

This was welcomed as ‘fantastic news’ by carnival chairman Robert Sedgbeer.

He said: “It’s great for the town and for carnival.

“To see more people visiting Weymouth and spending their money has to be great for the local economy.”

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s leisure and tourism team said: “There’s a huge amount of enthusiasm for steam trains so to have them coming weekly is great news.

“The visits will give passengers a taste of what the town has to offer and there’s a fine chance they’ll come back for a longer visit.”

The service from London Victoria, which will make calls at Clapham Junction, Staines, Woking and Basingstoke, is being organised by The Railway Touring Company.

Managing director Nigel Dobbing said: “Last summer over five thousand people climbed aboard our Scarborough Flyer service in the north. The appeal of steam and an afternoon by the sea without having to battle with traffic on the roads made the service a hit.

“We believe that combination of nostalgia, the widespread general love of these magnificent steam locomotives and the attractions of great seaside resorts such as Weymouth will be equally appealing.”

A range of different locomotives will take charge of the Dorset Coast Express each week including Standard Pacifics 70013 Oliver Cromwell and 70000 Britannia, King Arthur Class 30777 Sir Lamiel and Battle of Britain Class 34067 Tangmere.

Also lined up is 46115 Scots Guardsman, the locomotive which starred in the 1936 landmark documentary Night Mail, famed for its music by Benjamin Britten and verse by WH Auden.

The Dorset Coast Express launch service is on July 9 followed by weekly Wednesday departures from July 21 to September 1.

Day-trippers will have a choice of standard, first and premier dining travel on board with prices starting from £59 per person.