Jogging along on the Jacobite

PETER JAMES keeps a close eye on the fire, which glows a fiery red in the furnace of the black locomotive.

“The flame can’t go out, or then we have a problem,” says James, the stoker who shovels in the coal.

He will have fed in three-and-a-half tons of coal by the time the historic steam engine, The Jacobite, arrives at its destination, the station in Fort William.

And it’s certainly worth looking at the train as it idles at the station of the town in the Scottish Highlands, whistling and letting off steam.

When the wind blows, the releases wrap the waiting passengers in clouds of grey mist. Most board the train long before the whistle signals its departure.

Train lovers and tourists from all over the world sit in the seven carriages, which carry them on a journey through the picturesque mountains and lochs of the Highlands.

Among them are fans of JK Rowling’s best-selling Harry Potter series.

The Jacobite was used in the Harry Potter films to portray the Hogwarts Express, the train that takes the children from platform 9 3/4 at London King’s Cross to their magic school, Hogwarts.

“Once a year a group of Americans come over. They dress up as characters from the books and get on the train in their outfits,” says Florence, the conductor on the Jacobite for 19 years.

“It’s my job to look after the train and the passengers – in that order,” she says.

The train travels the 64 kilometres between Fort William and Mallaig, one of the most westerly fishing villages in Britain, between May and September.

It is from Mallaig that the ferries carrying passengers to the Isle of Skye and other islands in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides set off.

Otherwise there’s not much to see in the village. During the one-and-a-half hour stop there, there is more than enough time to admire every cottage several times. 

And to find a place in one of the fish and chip shops, which quickly fill up after the arrival of the Jacobite.

But in the summer, when even in the Scottish Highlands it can be warm and sunny, Mallaig has its own charm.

“You can just jump into the water during the break,” says Florence.

In the high season, two trains travel the spectacular stretch every day, past fresh and saltwater lochs, mountains, valleys and deep blue coastal waters.

Apart from the sheep there is little else to disturb the majestic landscape.

Around an hour after the train has departed Fort William, Florence announces over the loudspeaker that it will soon be passing over the most spectacular part of the route and opens the few windows that still open.

Shortly before Glenfinnan station the Jacobite steams over a 380-metre-long Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Afterwards it is just minutes before the train arrives in Glenfinnan itself. The West Highland Railway Museum, where visitors can discover more about the single-track railway, is located directly on the platform.

It was mainly Irish immigrants who worked on the railway’s construction, beginning in 1897.

In those early years the Jacobite’s locomotive did not pull passengers, but was instead used to haul fish from the coast.

One compartment of the train remains outfitted as in the Harry Potter films, but is closed off to visitors.

The other carriages are more spartan except the first class car, which is outfitted as it was many decades ago. During the trip, tea and shortbread are served there. 

The train soon reaches its destination – and the stretch Florence loves the most.

“Most passengers probably don’t even notice it,” she says.

Shortly before Mallaig there is a loch in a clearing. “It looks different every day, depending on the weather and the time of day,” says Florence.

“But I always look out of the window at the same place and admire the view.” 

The passengers are enthused by the two-hour-long tour. 

“It’s just great to sit in an old steam train and travel as they did back then,” says Helen, who comes from south of Edinburgh and is travelling with a friend.

They are less pleased though, when during the last stretch the train repeatedly travels through tunnels and the steam finds its way through the cracks around the windows.

“There is something to be said for the modern engines in trains nowadays,” Helen adds.