EIGHT locomotives will steam across the district.

The Cotswold Festival of Steam celebrates 'Workhorses of Steam' over the upcoming bank holiday weekend.

The show aims to celebrate the steam engines that until the 1960s shifted millions of tons of freight as well as passengers, on the national railway network.

Ian Crowder, a volunteer on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway and a member of the event organising team commented: "With the recent visit of ‘Flying Scotsman’ to Gloucestershire, the railway is expecting a wave of visitors looking for a more accessible ‘fix of steam.

"Interest in steam traction has never been greater.

"Steam disappeared off the national network half a century ago but it is still very much alive today. And where else can you find eight steam engines, all working together?

"There will also be steam on the North Gloucestershire Narrow Gauge Railway at Toddington over the weekend with up to three 2ft gauge engines running, as well as traction engines - something steamy for every taste.”

The steam trains ranged from small tank engines that ran local passenger train services or shunted goods yards to mighty express locomotives handling the heaviest trains at speeds up to 100mph.

Visiting locomotives include Return of the Coffee Pot, former train service between Cheltenham St. James station and Honeybourne until 1960.

The American S160 will be one of the main attractions on the day, a design built in their thousands during the Second World War, for the US Army Transportation Corps.

They were shipped to Europe to help with the war effort and to help the damaged railways get back on their feet, it is known for its distinctive chime whistle.

The Standard class 4 n. 76017 will also be on show, displaying the type of train built by British Railways in the 1950s after nationalisation.

The event also offers the chance to ride in the guards van of a goods train, visit behind the scenes at the railway's carriage and wagon works at Winchcombe and to enjoy model railways and the discovery coach tracing the history of the line.

The event features trains in Winchcombe, Gotherington Halt, Gotherington Loop, Cheltenham and Toddington between Saturday and Monday (May 27-29).

Full information is on www.gwsr.com including a downloadable train timetable.