Amateur photographers and railway enthusiasts hurried to their nearest railway embankment to catch a glimpse of a wonderful steam-driven machine.

The new steam locomotive Tornado, the first to be built in Britain in 50 years, was hauling the Cathedrals Express, a special tourist train that travels between London and Edinburgh.

On the footplate was TV’s Jeremy Clarkson, filming a feature for the upcoming new series of BBC’s Top Gear, turning the clock back 60 years to the way people travelled in 1949.

Usually the one to step into a more luxurious form of travel, such as a power boat or exclusive Bugatti, Mr Clarkson risked the smoke and smut of the business end of the steam engine.

On this occasion, Mr Clarkson was in a race against his Top Gear teammates Richard Hammond and James May, but Mr May was at the wheel of a vintage Jaguar XK120 and Mr Hammond astride a 1949 Vincent Black Shadow motorbike.

Local photographer Tim Crisp, who usually specialises in fast cars speeding around motor circuits, rushed to Folly Bridge in Urchfont last Wednesday to get this snap.

"It seemed like every railway bridge, and every station platform in the area was full of train spotters waiting to see the last stream to be bulit in the UK for nearly 50 years," he said.

The race will be aired tomorrow evening in the first edition of the new series of Top Gear.