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Back in my Grandfather's day, every boy used to dream of becoming an engine driver. Not the sterilised, characterless electrics of today's railways, but the giant smoke and steam belching monsters of yesteryear.

The London to Brighton railway line was built in 1837 and provided a quick route from capital to coast until 1932 when the line was electrified. The jewel in their crown then was the King Arthur class locomotives and Pulman luxury coaches, running non-stop between London and Brighton, and affectionately named the 'Southern Belle'. Southern Belle is, quite simply, a steam engine simulator of that very machine.

Driving a steam engine is not nearly as easy as you might imagine. Although you don't have to steer them, strict speed limits have to be adhered to, coal and water have to be used efficiently, and the passenger's comfort and safety must be looked after.

Your place in the proceedings is logically on the footplate, and your view of the engine's controls, the line ahead and various landmarks is most realistic.

From the opening menu, you can choose the type of journey you wish to undertake from an easy non-stop run to a journey including stopping at stations and obeying signals. When you've had some practice, you might care to try to beat the non-stop record or handle a heavy goods train.

In each mode, you can choose which of the engine's controls you operate, and which are taken care of automatically. The easiest mode being regulator, cut-off valve and brakes. More advanced drivers will be able to use the blower, injectors and dampers to obtain the best performance.

There are a multitude of controls. The regular lever is used to apply steam to the pistons, and can be thought of as analogous to a car's accelerator pedal. The cut-off valve is used to alter the percentage of the cycle during which steam is admitted to the cylinders while the blower is used to maintain a constant gas flow over the fire. The damper wheel controls the amount of air fed to the fire and the injectors feed water from the tender to the boiler. Brakes, whistle and the fire door are also controllable, although coal is fed to the fire automatically. The various gauges in the cab allow you to monitor the steam pressure and water level as well as water temperature.

All the controls are operated using the keyboard, but I didn't find that too much of a hassle as you rarely need to do anything in a hurry! The screen displays shows the engine controls and your forward view, while around it are arranged the signal indicator, digital clock (a little out of place, I feel), speedometer, gradient indicator and the name of the next station or tunnel. Pressing 'T' at any time will summon up a timetable with expected and actual arrival times, as well as indicating the next station you are expected to stop at.

Shortly after leaving Victoria station, you will pass Battersea power station on your left before cruising through Clapham, Croydon and all the provincial stations along the way before arrival at Brighton. There are many tunnels along the route, and some have spectacular entrances.

There are many mistakes possible, the most fatal being derailment! Excessive speeding will cause this, while allowing the boiler to boil dry is also pretty nasty. These and other comments on your abilities, together with your final assessment, should you reach Brighton in one piece, are displayed on the events page accessed from the timetable menu. At any point during a run, you can Save off, or Load, a previously Saved position. This is useful, as the whole journey can take over an hour to complete in real-time!

Southern Belle is a brilliant concept, expertly programmed and packaged, with clear concise instructions and historical notes. I've certainly had many hours of pleasure out of it so far, and I'm sure many others will become addicted to the beauty of steam through this package. Well done, Hewson!