Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
11th August 1968 has been imprinted on my mind for as long as I can remember - eventhough it was long before I was I born.
As many of you will know, it was the day that the last train was hauled by BR steam on the mainline - "The Fifteen Guinea Special". It ran from Liverpool to Carlisle via Manchester and the Settle & Carlisle line and was watched by thousands of spectators along the lineside.
Oliver Cromwell took charge of the northbound run from Manchester to Carlisle, this video is a taste of what it might have been like. A big thanks to Bluffers to Buffers, this video was made possible because they had sent their blue / grey Mk1 coaches for weathering. The new normal in the form of their BR blue Class 45 also makes an appearance.
youtube.com/c/BlufferstoBuffers/about
Black 5's 45110, took care of both legs between Liverpool and Manchester, 44781 and 44871 double headed the return working from Carlisle to Manchester.
It was not a cheap train to travel on - 15 Guinnea's was worth around £270 in 1968.
Incidentally, 11th August was also my Grandpa's birthday - he was called Neville and the layout was named after him (the "Grove" was borrowed from Bromsgrove). At the foot of the Lickey Incline, Bromsgrove is a legendary railway location in our family.
11th August 1968 has been imprinted on my mind for as long as I can remember - eventhough it was long before I was I born.
As many of you will know, it was the day that the last train was hauled by BR steam on the mainline - "The Fifteen Guinea Special". It ran from Liverpool to Carlisle via Manchester and the Settle & Carlisle line and was watched by thousands of spectators along the lineside.
Oliver Cromwell took charge of the northbound run from Manchester to Carlisle, this video is a taste of what it might have been like. A big thanks to Bluffers to Buffers, this video was made possible because they had sent their blue / grey Mk1 coaches for weathering. The new normal in the form of their BR blue Class 45 also makes an appearance.
youtube.com/c/BlufferstoBuffers/about
Black 5's 45110, took care of both legs between Liverpool and Manchester, 44781 and 44871 double headed the return working from Carlisle to Manchester.
It was not a cheap train to travel on - 15 Guinnea's was worth around £270 in 1968.
Incidentally, 11th August was also my Grandpa's birthday - he was called Neville and the layout was named after him (the "Grove" was borrowed from Bromsgrove). At the foot of the Lickey Incline, Bromsgrove is a legendary railway location in our family.
