In Steam 2008 we see many of the highlights of an historic year for British Steam, notably the recreation of the legendary 15 Guinea Special of 11th August 1968 which ran over virtually the same route almost exactly 40 years later!
The recreation featured the newly restored 70013 Oliver Cromwell which had had its last run on the original and now its first run on therecreation, together with a pair of Black 5s and an 8F. Additionally we visit Carnforth locomotive depot which had been so involved in the last days of steam and was thrown open to the public once again for the debut of 46116 Scots Guardsman after a complete overhaul. Brand new, and possibly the greatest achievement of thepreservation era, is 60163 Tornado, which would appear in August and go to the Great Central for running-in - but this was just a foretaste of the future!
An LNER Steam Gala was held in the Spring on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, where three working A4 Pacifics lined upoutside Grosmont shed, an event which was mirrored later in the year at the National Railway Museum during the running of The Coronation, a main line special from London to Edinburgh celebrating 70 years since the launch of the LNER streamliner.
The LMS' finest, Duchess of Hamilton, paid a visit to the South of England and we see her on the Sunny South Express - in pouring rain!"Tangmere" also suffered this indignity and also marked the end of steam on the Folkestone Harbour branch. By contrast the Swanage Railway recreated one of the Southern's smallest trains, when it ran the Drummond M7 0-4-4T on a local train, a number of which were also featured in the Keighley and Worth Valley's celebration of 40 years of preservation. Here we see the results of a derailment and Sir Lamiel's main line return.
Back on the NYMR we recorded one of the very last runs of Green Arrow, which is unlikely to work again for a very long time, and our programme is completed with a recording of one of the most ambitious railtours of all - the five day extravagenza to Scotland featuring two A4s Union of South Africa and Bittern, a Black 5 45407 and Duke of Gloucester.
Altogether these make a fascinating and historic year of British Steam!