7Fifty years ago this year mainline steam in Britain ceased to exist, the last official date being August 11, 1968. The plan by British Railways at the time was that after this there would be no more steam traction. A special dispensation was given for Britannia Class 4-6-2 number 70013 Oliver Cromwell to travel under its own steam into preservation on the 12th and 13th of that month, but we now know that those plans never made it to fruition, though eventually steam locomotives would return to the main lines on highly popular Specials. This evocative book looks back at those days and years leading up to the end of steam on Britain's railways with many original photographs from the period.