70013

It's all red lights for British Railways Standard 7 Pacific 70013 Oliver Cromwell at the head of the returning Cheshireman railtour in platform 1 of Sheffield Midland station after a stirring journey through the Peak District via Edale.

We were considering turning in ready for the very early start but a night-time shot of BR Standard 4-6-2 70013 Oliver Cromwell in road 6 and LNER Gresley A4 4-6-2 60009 Union of South Africa in road 8 was too much to miss. West Coast Railways Class 47 47237 and Class 37 37518 were thrown in for good measure. 70013 would be departing from Victoria on the Cathedrals Express the next day while 60009 was being prepped for the Dorset Coast Express the day after.

The beauty of a Brit. In 1968 condition! British Railways Standard 4-6-2 70013 Oliver Cromwell powers away from Loughborough Central station with the 11.30 service to Leicester during the 2018 Goods Galore weekend.

On a grey winter day BR Standard pacific 70013 Oliver Cromwell has a green on the Section signal as we leave Loughborough with the 14.00 train to Leicester. Cromwell was only 4 days from withdrawal for its 10 year overhaul but ran beautifully. Although kept spruced up for its last few days it had acquired an authentic "lived-in" patina. In August 2023 the boiler is still at Tyseley being overhauled but the bottom end is complete. Covid has severely delayed the return but it is hoped to have 70013 back in steam by the end of 2023/early 2024.