Forty years ago this month, in fact, the birthplace of steam locomotion dropped its fires in regular service.

It was in August 1968 when British Rail operated its last regular steam-powered services. The milestone ended a process begun in 1955 when BR announced a massive modernization scheme that included wide-ranging dieselization and electrification alongside the retirement of steam.

Five years later, in 1960, BR completed its last new steam locomotive, 9F Class 2-10-0 "Evening Star", which survives today in preservation. BR's last steamers, in fact, outlasted some of the early diesel and electric locomotive designs that emerged from the modernization.