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50 years on from end of rail steam August 11, 2018

A steam special hauled by Flying Scotsman is pictured near KeighleyIt is 50 years since steam locomotives stopped hauling regular passenger services on Britain’s national railways.

The last steam-hauled passenger train on August 11, 1968, travelled through Yorkshire over the scenic Settle-Carlisle Line on its special route from Liverpool to Carlisle and back.

Steam still has a future on the Keighley and Worth Valley RailwayA North Yorkshire Moors Railway service at WhitbyWhile a few steam special services have been reintroduced since that time, a visit to a heritage railway is usually the best way to experience the nostalgia and the matchless sight, sound and smell of a steam locomotive in action. One Yorkshire railway, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, is even back on tracks it shares with the Northern rail network for the extension of its Pickering to Grosmont services into Whitby.

Yorkshire has a huge range of heritage railways, most of which operate steam services. See our dedicated page for further details and links to the railways’ websites.

Heritage railways