STEAM railway enthusiasts in Bromsgrove and Droitwich are in for a rare treat next month.

After weeks of negotiations rail bosses have given the 'green light' for a special train to run from Droitwich to one of the country's top 'steam centres' - via a railway line that has been closed since the 1960s.

The Quainton Clubman, as the special will be named, will be formed of two of the new Turbostar trains now operating between London and Birmingham, and is scheduled to run on October 6.

The special, which is being run by Minehead-based organisers, Cheshire Railtours, will be flagged out of Worcester's Shrub Hill Station at 8.30am, picking up on the way at Droitwich, Hartlebury, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, Cradley Heath, Rowley Regis, Birmingham Snow Hill and Solihull.

The special will run through the Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire countryside to Princes Risborough, where it will then reverse to Aylesbury.

From this point it will travel along a line that was closed to passenger trains in the 1960s to the tiny village of Quainton, where the little station has been lovingly restored as part of the famous Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, on the occasion of their annual Rail Enthusiasts Festival.

Passengers on the special will have up to four hours to see various steam locomotives from around the world.

Cheshire Railtours spokesman, David Latimer, said: "This is the first time we have been allowed to take a train up the old line to Quainton and it will be the first time that the type of train we are using will have ever run from Droitwich."

Anyone wanting further information should call 01984 640005 between 9am and 9pm.