Full steam ahead on railway

THE last mainline steam train to run will be back on the tracks this weekend to mark 50 years since the end of the era.

The 70013 Oliver Cromwell made its final passenger journey, a return from Liverpool to Carlisle on August 11, 1968, before services came to an end.

It will be among four engines at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough, Leics, this weekend taking fans on 16-mile trips for the End of Steam gala. Many locos were scrapped when steam was banned in favour of cleaner diesel and electric engines but some were preserved. Many are still in use on heritage lines. Mark Smith of the Heritage Railway Association was a 20-year-old student in 1968 and on board for the final journey.

He said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I might be. It was magical.”