IT was full steam ahead in Rawtenstall as an event to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the end of steam engines was held at the East Lancashire Railway.
Railwaymen who served at the final steam motive power depots were invited to mark the events of August 11 1968, when the last passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power, the ‘fifteen guinea special’, travelled from Liverpool via Manchester to Carlisle and back.
A re-run of the fabled journey took place, starting at Bolton Street station, with two of the vehicles from the original journey being used.
Among the enthusiasts present was music mogul Pete Waterman, who is the chairman of the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society.
He opened the East Lancashire Railway’s new pub, The Buffer Stops, in Rawtenstall.
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