Join us for this special gala to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the end of steam trains on British Railways! In collaboration with Steam Railway magazine, we will be honouring this milestone by repeating that legendary ‘1T57 Fifteen Guinea Special’ run of August 11th 1968.
The weekend will see ‘Britannia’ Pacific 70013 Oliver Cromwell* (by kind permission of the National Railway Museum and the 5305 Locomotive Association) headlining a special 1968 themed event with other guest locomotives from that year. One of the highlights will be the re-enactment of the 1T57 special and the ELR is hoping to go one better than previous re-runs by assembling a train of appropriate Mark 1 rolling stock in the correct livery and formation – the transitional combination of three maroon and seven blue/grey Mk 1 coaches.
The East Lancashire Railway is proud to have in its possession the only two remaining coaches from the original train 1T57: Mk 1 TSOs, Nos. M4933*and M4937*. The railway is so determined to make it look right, that the coaches are planned to be re-painted back to their blue/grey livery as carried in 1968.
One for the diary
