Stock Photo - Schools Class Locomotive number 925 Cheltenham backs a train at Ropley Station on the Mid Hants Railway during the railway. . s Spring Steam Gala on the 13th February 2014 . The Mid Hants Heritage Railway also known as The Watercress Line due to watercress production in the area running 10 miles 16 km in Hampshire Southern England from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. . The Schools class were the most powerful 4-4-0 type locomotives to operate in the UK and were a very successful design, used for passenger and freight duties. They were named after the famous public schools within the area then served by the Southern Railway, a publicity masterstroke given the popularity of train spotting with schoolboys at the time.