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On Easter Monday 70013 “Oliver Cromwell” worked a “Cathedrals Express” for Steam Dreams from Victoria to Portsmouth. This coincided with a major anniversary of the opening of the line, and was accompanied by special events at various stations, notably at Petersfield where it is estimated that around 4000 people turned out to see the locomotive.
One of our support crew wrote: “What a splendid day yesterday with Cromwell over the Portsmouth Direct Line. The loco performed immaculately as we have come to expect. There were literally thousands of people out at Petersfield, where a full day of celebrations had been organised, and at other stations and locations on the line. The platforms at Petersfield were so crammed with people that the 5305LA support crew had difficulty in handling the Bells and Two Tones water hoses easily.” He also sent in a couple of photos of the crowd which give an idea of the size of the gathering.
It is really gratifying that so many people are able to see part of the National Collection doing what she is designed to do: namely hauling passenger trains at speed over the Main Line network. 5305 Locomotive Association is proud to be the operating partner for this great locomotive on behalf of the National Railway Museum and we are very glad that so many people want to see and ride behind this piece of history. If you too want to ride behind Cromwell, please see the Events page for details of forthcoming trips and contact information for the various tour sponsors.
By Info | Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | Tags : 70013