Steam Trains | Great British engines, railway journeys and steam enthusiasts
The Train Now Departing | The Survivors
Enthusiasts keep steam alive on Britain's tracks.
CHANNEL | BBC 2
FIRST BROADCAST | 20 December 1988
DURATION | 29 minutes 10 seconds
FIRSTBROADCAST
1988
Synopsis
Twenty years after the last passenger steam train ran on mainline railways, preservation societies strive to keep locomotives and tracks running for new visitors. Accompanied by footage of engines on the Bluebell Line and the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, enthusiasts talk about their passion for steam and why all the hard work involved in restoring and operating a steam train is worth it.
Did you know?
The last steam engine journey on mainline railways was by the Oliver Cromwell, Britannia-class Pacific No 70013, from Carlisle to Liverpool Lime Street and back on 11 August 1968. The Oliver Cromwell took pride of place in an exhibition at the National Railway Museum in 2008, having been restored at the Great Central Railway workshops in Loughborough.
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