Press Office
New model army welcomes Cromwell home
This bank holiday weekend The National Railway Museum (NRM) celebrated the 40th anniversary of the end of mainline steam and the return of one of the National Collection’s most famous locomotives in true military fashion.
No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell pulled the last ever BR steam hauled train on August 11 1968, booking her place in the history books. The ‘steam survivor’ has just undergone a 4 year restoration down at Loughborough’s Great Central Railway and has returned to the NRM to star in its ‘1968 and All That’ event – a half term extravaganza which started on Saturday and runs until Sunday 1 June.
Members of Colonel Edward Montagu’s Regiment of Foote, a roundhead regiment of the English Civil War Society, fanfared Oliver Cromwell’s historic return to the home of the railway by firing muskets at noon.
The weekend was the first true opportunity for the public to access the footplate of the historic locomotive since the painstaking restoration process was completed last month.
Star players in steam’s last rites, the men that worked on the last train, the ‘15 Guinea Special’, relived their memories when they were reunited with No. 70013 for the first time since the engine has been restored back to her former glory.
Footplate workers on the famous train got in touch with the NRM in response to its ’memories of steam’ appeal asking for the public’s recollections of the end of steam as part of the preparation for its 9-day celebration. Their memories along with many others from across the UK are now accessible to the nation via the museum’s vast archive of railway history, the multi-million pound archive and research centre Search Engine.
Event organiser Matt Thompson said:
”The end of steam was an important date in history, so there is a real sense of occasion at this event, with the return of Oliver Cromwell from restoration and the opportunity for railway workers from the time to pass on their memories of the end of an era to new generations
“There’s plenty for everyone to enjoy during the rest of our half-term sixties extravaganza and it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic day out for the whole family. Visitors can take a ride on a steam train, stand on the footplates of many other historic locomotives, watch a special live theatre performance, meet some heavy horses and enjoy a BBQ, soul music and real ale.”
May 2008