The thrilling adventures of The Railway Children will be closer than ever before at the Abbey Theatre this Christmas.

It is full steam ahead this week for the production by Company of Ten which brings E Nesbit’s much-loved children’s classic to life in the small, intimate theatre.

Director Yvonne Harding has waited years to see it on stage in St Albans and says it provides a chance for some of the area’s youngest, and brightest talent to shine.

The story, set in Edwardian England, follows siblings Bobbie (played by Maggie Dorling, 16), Peter (Conor Gray, 18) and Phyllis (Chloe Brown, 17), who are forced to move with their mother from their affluent London home to a modest house in the country after their father is wrongly imprisoned for spying.

Yvonne, who has been part of Company of Ten for 35 years and set up its young music section with her husband, says: “Young people are the future of theatre.

“I couldn’t believe my luck when they picked me as director. It’s just so lovely to be working with a young group again. They are so much fun and full of energy.“ The trio’s adventures on and around the nearby the railway, which range from averting a train wreck to rescuing a Russian exile, captured the hearts of generations, thanks to the hugely successful 1970 film and the unforgettable image of Jenny Agutter waving her red petticoat at an approaching steam train.

It wasn’t adapted for the stage until 2005 and then was famously shown with a real steam train at the National Railway Museum in York in 2008 and at London’s Waterloo Station in 2010, which is where Yvonne saw and fell in love with it.

“I thought it would be brilliant for the Abbey Theatre,“ says the Eaton Bray resident. “An adaptation was created for smaller theatres and it brings a different quality to it.

“You are so much closer to the action.“ She says the version with a real locomotive is a “tough act to follow,“ but adds: “As the playwright Mike Kenny points out, the best prop of all is the audience’s imagination and it’s actually the journey of this family that makes them most interesting.“ Although there won’t be a real train on stage, the show will be brought to life with plenty of sound effects and steam and props leant to them by St Albans signal box.

The 74-year-old adds: “We chose it because it’s family entertainment. It will appeal to grandparents down to quite young children.“

Abbey Theatre, Westminster Lodge, Holywell Hill, December 20-23 and 27-29. Details: 01727 857861, abbeytheatre.org.uk