RailPictures.Net Photo: 70013 Oliver Cromwel British Railways BR Standard Britannia 4-6-2 at Beeston Castle, Cheshire, United Kingdom by Steve Armitage
It's entirely appropriate that 'Oliver Cromwell' should so triumphantly raise battle echoes of old at this location. Charging through pastoral farmland below the ruins of Beeston Castle, a fortified stronghold of the Royalists in the English Civil War, it was Cromwell, a Parliamentarian, who ordered its destruction in 1646. 'Olly' leans to the curve as he heads towards Crewe, running an hour down on schedule following an earlier delay due to an (unrelated) line incident. The late running offered cooler, still air and glorious late afternoon light. Sometimes it pays to be patient!
