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On the programme
Steam Night
On this page you can Listen Again to Steam Night and to interviews we couldn't include in the live programme. Down below, there are also links to railway websites, and a list of suggested reading.
(You'll need Realplayer to listen to the interviews. To find out how to install it go to the BBC Help page on Realplayer)
Part One: Former West Region signalman Adrian Vaughan and railway journalist David Wilcock join Dotun Adebayo and Howard Benson to hear memories from 1968 and the inimitable Pete Waterman.
Listen to part One
Part Two: Listen to a Black Five and a WD at Haworth, and Paul Salveson from Northern Rail on his exploits as an engine cleaner at Bolton.
Listen to part Two
Part Three: A ride on the footplate at Keighley and railway memories from listeners.
Listen to part Three
Part Four: The future for the railway preservation movement with David Morgan from the Heritage Railway Association.
Listen to part Four
Part Five: Keighley fireman Derek Eastwood talks about his railway exploits starting with his first footplate ride as a nipper.
Listen to part Five
Part Six and Part Seven: Phil Mathison and Nick Beilby go Shed Bashing with the Beatles (and a little bit of Northern Soul!)
Listen to part Six and Listen to part Seven
Part Eight: Recollections of railway sound recordist Peter Handford with Nigel Harris from Rail magazine, and A1 Pacific Tornado live in steam at Darlington.
Listen to part Eight
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Full-length interviews
The 15 Guinea Special, 1T57, hauled by Oliver Cromwell, was the last steam hauled passenger train on the British Rail mainline on August 11 1968. It ran from Liverpool Lime Street to Carlisle and back, with thousands of people thronging the lineside as it went past. Fireman Raymond Watton from Blackburn and footplate inspector Frank Watson from Accrington, meet up at the National Railway Museum in York to reminisce about the journey.
Listen to Frank and Raymond
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Frank and Raymond return for a nostalgic visit to Oliver Cromwell's footplate to explain how a steam engine works.
How a steam engine works
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Bob Gregson from Blackburn was 15 in 1968. He remembers his days as a trainspotter at Lostock Hall shed in Lancashire and the last timetabled steam trains from Preston to Blackpool and Liverpool.
Listen to more from Bob
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Robert Adamson is a volunteer at the National Railway Museum. He grew up in Retford and comes from a railway family.
Listen to more from Robert
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David Greenhaulgh from Accrington was a trainspotter who achieved his boyhood dream of becoming a train driver. He was based at Rose Grove shed near Burnley and was a fireman on one of the Black Fives which hauled the 15 Guinea special.
Listen to David's story
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John Beck is now a teacher in Malvern but he grew up as a railway enthusiast on Merseyside and witnessed the departure of the 15 Guinea Special from Liverpool Lime Street on 11 August 1968. He remembers that day with his friend Mike Priestley.
Hear more from John and Mike
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Ken Bailey grew up in Wembley during World War II and spotted Duchesses, Princesses, Castles and Kings.
Ken tells us more
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Families take a trip back in time as they visit the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway during its 40th anniversary gala.
Listen to a family day out
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A re-enactment of the events which led to the creation of Yorkshire's first preserved railway.
Listen to the re-enactment play
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David Kay was one of the Worth Valley's founding members. He helped with other volunteers to rescue the line after it was closed in 1962.
Hear David's story
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A tour of the engine shed at Haworth with Roger France, and John Fletcher of the West Coast Railway Company remembers his days at Lostock Hall.
Hear Roger and John
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Peter Robinson from Sheffield watched the 15 Guinea Special at Liverpool and then rushed to see it again at Manchester Victoria.
Peter remembers the day
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"It was a life not a job." Joseph Booth from Preston started as a cleaner at Lostock Hall shed when he was 15 and was made redundant when steam finished.
Joseph tells his story
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Chris Davies from Bishop Auckland was struck by steam when he was four. He observed the 15 Guinea Special at Dent and Ais Gill on the Settle and Carlisle line.
Listen to more from Chris
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Jane Wilkie from Cambridge has been fascinated by steam trains since she was 9.
Hear an interview with Jane
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Links to find out more:
National Railway Museum
Heritage Railway Association
Mainline Steam Trains
Railway Magazines
Steam Sounds
Suggested Reading
If you can't find these in your local library copies can usually be found on eBay or Amazon.
Parallel Lines by Ian Marchant
Platform Souls by Nick Whittaker
Fearless Ghosts by Alex Scott
Shed Bashing With The Beatles by Phil Mathison
Sounds of Railways and Their Recording by Peter Handford
Fire and Steam by Christian Woolmar
Signalman's Twilight by Adrian Vaughan
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