Railway enthusiasts clustered round the locomotive Bittern at Buchanan Street Station, Glasgow, on September 3, 1966, before it set out on its last journey for British Railways.
The engine was going to Aberdeen on the final public run of one of the famous 4-6-2 class A4 Pacific locomotives.
One of its fellow A4s, the Mallard, set the world speed record for steam locomotives of 126mph in 1938.
Bittern was certainly getting a good send-off, with fans taking to the tracks to
get the best angle for a photo of the occasion.
After this run, Bittern was withdrawn from British Railways traffic, but was bought privately just a week later and was used on various steam charters.
On June 29, 2013 Bittern
set a new speed record for
a British preserved steam locomotive when it reached a maximum speed of 92.8 miles per hour in Bedfordshire.
Amazingly, 49 years after its last run for British Railways,
it is still steaming along the tracks. Just two weeks ago it made its debut run for the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage railway in Hampshire.
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