A cloud of smoke and the distant toot of a whistle signalled the end of a 14-year steam engine restoration project on the Watercress Line.

Southern Railway Bulleid Merchant Navy Class locomotive number 35005 Canadian Pacific reversed slowly into Alresford station at 10.10am on March 19 and coupled up with a train featuring restored Bulleid carriages 4211 and 1456 to the cheers of hundreds of people waiting expectantly on the platform.

It stood at Alresford for 45 minutes filled with a flurry of speeches and myriad photo opportunities, climaxing in a naming ceremony for a reborn locomotive built in 1941.

Speaking to the crowd first were Watercress Line chief executive Rebecca Dalley, Watercress Line chairman Stephen Evans, and Eilish McGuinness - chief executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which contributed £1,254,400 to the restoration.

Eilish McGuinness said: “It is so brilliant to be here to see this beautiful steam locomotive restored for the future for everyone to enjoy.

“That’s what we do at the Heritage Fund. We protect heritage to hand it on to future generations and this couldn’t be a better example of that. It’s the 200th anniversary year of the birth of modern railways, so another reason to celebrate. We know that the heritage railway is so key to our heritage story, and I think that’s the really important thing.

“This obviously is a locomotive of great beauty, it’s a locomotive of great engineering skills, and I have to pay tribute to everyone who’s been involved in it. But also it’s a way of telling the story of the nation, and it is such an incredible story. We thank National Lottery players - I think if you were voting for a project, this would definitely be voted for to give National Lottery money to! Congratulations everyone, and I am absolutely thrilled to be here.”

Eilish McGuinness was then joined on the podium by Canadian Deputy High Commissioner Robert Fry to unveil a gleaming nameplate, accompanied by Stephen Evans and Rebecca Dalley.

The name of the engine is in raised letters on a cast brass ring surrounding a replica of steamship company Canadian Pacific’s house flag in vitreous enamel.

Robert Fry said: “There’s something magical about a steam train, we’re all gathered for that. It’s more than just machinery, more than steel and rivets, more than the roar of the boiler and the hiss of the steam. It’s a living, breathing thing, and this locomotive, this beautifully restored Canadian Pacific, is not just a piece of history. It’s a heartbeat that has been rekindled thanks to the tireless dedication of thousands of those who refused to let her voice be silenced.

“She lives again. Every gleaming bolt and polished brass fixture tells a story of resilience and love, of countless hours spent breathing life back into a vessel that once connected towns, hearts and dreams. The hands that restored her didn’t just rebuild a train, they resurrected a symbol of adventure, of romance, of the undying human spirit.

“The Canadian Pacific carried more than just passengers. She carried the weight of memory, the gentle whisper of lovers parting on the platform, the laughter of children pressing their faces to the glass and the quiet reflection of those who found solace in the steady rhythm of the tracks. She reminds us that sometimes the past is not meant to be left behind. Sometimes it’s meant to be carried forward, rekindled and shared with new generations.”

At 11am another whistle saw Canadian Pacific waved goodbye from Alresford with even more cheers as it set off for its first passenger journey to Alton, pulling a train packed with VIPs, Watercress Line staff and volunteers, and a gaggle of reporters, photographers and cameramen capturing the occasion for newspapers, railway magazines and television stations.

A welcoming committee of Binsted CE Primary School children waving flags bearing the Canadian Pacific nameplate greeted the engine as it made its first stop at Ropley.

Immaculately dressed waiting staff, under the supervision of train manager Stephen Dwyer, shuttled up and down the train serving cakes, canapés and coffee to the invited guests as 1940s, 50s and 60s music played in the background.

The train made another stop at Medstead & Four Marks before leaving the East Hampshire countryside behind, giving passengers a great view of Jubilee Playing Fields and The Butts before pulling into Platform 4 at Alton station, separated from the modern railway by a green fence and 84 years of history.

Canadian Pacific was named after the shipping line which provided vital supplies to isolated Britain in the darkest days of the Second World War. Immediately before the war the company sailed three ships per week between Canada and Britain, many using Southampton as their home port.

Designed for Southern Railway by its chief mechanical engineer Oliver Bulleid, Canadian Pacific featured an innovative design with a mixed traffic designation. It started by providing a wartime service on the South Coast route before hauling the luxury boat trains of the mid-20th century, including the Bournemouth Belle, Royal Wessex and Atlantic Coast Express.

After 20 minutes of leg stretching and lens clicking at Alton, everyone remembered to mind the gap as they climbed aboard for the return journey. Canadian Pacific stopped at all stations again, rewarding the flag-waving children at Ropley who had waited patiently for a second chance to see it.

There was a pause for a few minutes not too far from Alresford station, the reason for which was revealed as we alighted on the other platform. A seamless engine change meant Canadian Pacific was sitting proudly at the front of its afternoon train, while the rest of our journey was completed behind another locomotive.

Rather than returning to the station entrance by the conventional route of the footbridge, the passengers were escorted along the length of the platform to the flat crossing point, allowing them the rare chance to walk across a working railway line and take a picture of Canadian Pacific from the front if they had not managed to do so during the media scrum a couple of hours earlier. The ceremonies ended with a blessing of the locomotive at precisely 12.58pm.

The smooth and trouble-free progress of the engine disguised the amount of work which had gone into rescuing it, turning a shabby shell of a locomotive into one that is as good as new through more than 10,000 hours of renovation.

The Watercress Line began the job in 2011 at Eastleigh Locomotive Works where it was built, starting with reconstruction of the boiler, frame repairs and the restoration of intricate mechanical components. Initial estimates suggested it would take five years, but a variety of issues lengthened this timetable.

Before Canadian Pacific steamed out of Alresford, the last word went to Air Vice Marshal Richard Lacey, president of the Watercress Line.

He said: “It is so impressive to see so many faces here to help us relaunch our flagship locomotive. It’s a great pleasure to see all of you here, thank you so much for coming. I hope you’re going to really enjoy the run up the line, and let us see what this locomotive can really do!”