BR standard class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell
Encyclopedia
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
is a British Railways standard class 7
BR standard class 7
The BR Standard Class 7, otherwise known as the Britannia Class, is a class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed traffic duties. Fifty-five were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design was a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges...
(also known as the Britannia class) preserved
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
. The locomotive is notable as one of the four steam locomotives which worked the last steam railtour on British Railways (BR) in 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban.
Career
One of 55 of the "Britannia" class, Oliver Cromwell was built at Crewe WorksCrewe Works
Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
, being completed on 30 May 1951. 70013 was initially allocated to Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
depot (BR shed code 32A) on the Eastern Region of British Railways
Eastern Region of British Railways
The Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
and employed on London to Norwich expresses. Some of the Norwich diagrams (the day's operating schedule for a locomotive) required two return trips a day to London totalling 460 miles. The introduction of the Britannia Pacifics revolutionised express services in East Anglia.
From 1958, diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
locomotives began to replace steam locomotives. 70013 remained at Norwich until w/e 16 September 1961 when transferred to March
March, Cambridgeshire
March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. March was the county town of the Isle of Ely, a separate administrative county between 1889 and 1965, and is now the administrative centre of Fenland District Council.The town was an important...
Motive Power Depot (shed code 31B), having covered 698,000 miles in just over ten years, an excellent figure. Norwich Depot, under the shedmaster Bill Harvey, was renowned for the fine mechanical condition of its locomotives. In December 1963, 70013 was transferred to the London Midland Region
London Midland Region of British Railways
The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...
at Carlisle Kingmoor Depot
Carlisle Kingmoor TMD
Carlisle Kingmoor TMD is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Carlisle, England. The depot is operated by the Direct Rail Services . The depot was originally used to service Diesel Locomotives and Diesel Multiple Units. The current depot code is KM...
(shed code 12A) for freight, parcels and occasional passenger work – most regular express services were by now diesel-hauled. The north-west of England became the steam locomotive's last area of operation on BR. On 3 October 1966? 70013 entered Crewe Works
Crewe Works
Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
and became the last BR-owned steam locomotive to undergo routine heavy overhaul, being out-shopped after a special ceremony in February 1967. 70013 was selected to operate the last steam passenger train prior to the abolition of steam traction on British Railways lines, and in the summer of 1968 Oliver Cromwell hauled several specials, culminating in the Fifteen Guinea Special
Fifteen Guinea Special
The IT57 'Fifteen Guinea Special was the last main-line passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power on British Railways on 11 August 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban that started the following day...
which ran between Liverpool and Carlisle
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...
on 11 August that year and which 70013 hauled on the Manchester to Carlisle leg of the trip.
Preservation
Oliver Cromwell became part of the National Railway MuseumNational Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
's National Collection immediately after the end of the Fifteen Guinea Special (70000 Britannia
BR standard class 7 70000 Britannia
British Railways standard class 7 , number 70000 Britannia is a preserved steam locomotive.-British Railways:...
, later preserved privately, had previously been earmarked for this move). Despite a steam ban after the 11 August 1968, 70013 moved under its own steam on 12 August to its old shed at Norwich and then, on 13 August, to Diss
Diss
Diss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
whence she was transported by road to Bressingham Steam & Gardens
Bressingham Steam & Gardens
Bressingham Steam & Gardens is a steam museum, gardens and garden centre located at Bressingham, west of Diss in Norfolk, England. The site has several narrow gauge rail lines and a number of types of steam engines and vehicles in its collection and is also the home of the national Dad's Army...
. At Bressingham, 70013 was in service to provide footplate
Footplate
The footplate of a steam locomotive is a large metal plate that rests on top of the frames and is normally covered with wooden floorboards. It is usually the full width of the locomotive and extends from the front of the cab to the rear of cab or coal bunker just above the buffer beam. The...
rides until the 1980s, before retiring into the museum exhibition.
In 2004, it was announced that Oliver Cromwell would be restored to main-line standard in preparation for the 40th anniversary of the end of steam, with significant financial assistance from the readers of Steam Railway magazine. The locomotive was overhauled at the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway (preserved)
The Great Central Railway is a heritage railway split into two adjacent sections, one in Leicestershire and the other Nottinghamshire.The Leicestershire section is currently Britain's only double track mainline heritage railway, with of working double track, period signalling, locomotives and...
(GCR) with a view to hauling trains both on the Great Central and specials on the main line. On the weekend of the 3 May – 4 May 2008, the locomotive hauled its first revenue-earning passenger services since being restored on the GCR's eight-mile route. The locomotive made an appearance at the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
's 1968 and All That event celebrating 40 years since the end of steam.
Its first mainline passenger charter since 1968 was on August 10, 2008 when the locomotive took part in a re-run of the Fifteen Guinea Special. It then went on to operate on the Scarborough Spa Express later in the month.
On 9 September 2008, Oliver Cromwell completed a re-run of "The Norfolkman" running from Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
to Norwich railway station
Norwich railway station
Norwich is a railway station serving the city of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Ely, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.-History:At one...
and return, visiting the site of its former home of Norwich shed (32A). 70013 carried a 32A shed plate on the smokebox to complete the image.
On 8 November 2008, the locomotive was temporarily re-numbered as 70048 and re-named "The Territorial Army 1908 - 2008" to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Territorial Army. The naming was performed by HRH The Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Richard is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974. He is currently 20th in the line of succession...
at station on the preserved Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
. 70048 was a sister member of the BR Standard Class 7
BR standard class 7
The BR Standard Class 7, otherwise known as the Britannia Class, is a class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed traffic duties. Fifty-five were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design was a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges...
Britannia class and was named "The Territorial Army 1908 - 1958". During the 2008 re-naming, 70013 carried this name on the right-hand-side smoke deflector as a reminder of the original name and as a link with the past association with the Territorial Army.
On 23 May 2009, the locomotive hauled a railtour from Norwich to Poole in Dorset, and then travelled to the Swanage Railway
Swanage Railway
The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...
under its own power, via Wareham and the re-instated link between the main-line and the Swanage Railway at Motala.
On 11 March 2010, Oliver Cromwell hauled the opening railtour over the newly re-instated level crossing at Sheringham
Sheringham
Sheringham is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, west of Cromer.The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District Council, is Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat, Latin for "The sea enriches and the pine adorns"....
on the North Norfolk Railway
North Norfolk Railway
The North Norfolk Railway – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the coastal town of Sheringham and Holt, It cuts through the countryside to the east of Weybourne with views of its windmill and passes through the well preserved country...
, arriving from King's Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
, via Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
.
On 3 May 2010, Oliver Cromwell was used for a private charter by Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK
Girlguiding UK is the national Guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would be run along similar lines to Scouting for Boys. The Guide Association was a founder member of...
, as part of the celebration of 100 years of Guiding. Brownies Take Over the Tracks ran between London Victoria and Windsor & Eton Riverside.
On Saturday 15 May 2010, two years after its previous overhaul, Oliver Cromwell suffered from a cracks in the firebox and was moved to the GCR for an inspection which lead to the locomotive being withdrawn from service.
As of Sunday 30 August 2010, 70013 Oliver Cromwell was undergoing overhaul at Crewe Heritage Centre. The cab was removed before the rest of the locomotive was sent for repairs to the boiler.
On 17 December 2010 the locomotive had a successful steam test at Crewe. On 8 March 2011 she was taken to Southall and on 12 March 2011 she hauled "The Lincoln Imp" from London Victoria to Lincoln, returning to Kings Cross.