Oliver Cromwell 70013 Steam Locomotive, Dover Priory Rail Station, Kent, UK

The BR Class 7MT 4-6-2 no 70013 Oliver Cromwell Steam Locomotive venting steam on arrival at Platform 1 of the Victorian Dover Priory Railway Station, England:


(Click this Oliver Cromwell Steam Locomotive text link to see the largest size)

The photo was taken from the Folkestone Road road-bridge at 6.16 pm on Sunday, September the 3rd, 2011, after making a small detour from a cycle ride around town (1).

The 70013 Oliver Cromwell is a British Railways standard class 7 (also known as the Britannia class) preserved steam locomotive. The locomotive is notable as one of the four steam locomotives which worked the last steam railtour on British Railways (BR) in 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban (2).

Earlier this year:

The BR Britannia Class 7MT 4-6-2 no 70000 Britannia Steam Locomotive (3) and the 12-coach "Cathedrals Express" passed through Dover Priory Train Station at 5.47 pm on Thursday 7 April 2011.

The LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 no 60163 Tornado Steam Locomotive called at at 5.47 pm on Saturday, June the 18th, 2011.

The Spitfire and The Hop Picker tour (Shepherd & Neame) (4)

After a pre-event transfer from Southall WCRC (West Coast Railway Company) to Kensington Olympia with headcode 5Z81, the scheduled itinerary for the Oliver Cromwell was as follows:

Night Panorama of Dover Priory Rail Station from the Western Heights, Kent, UK

A night-time view of Dover Priory Rail Station taken on Sunday, October 17th, 2010, from the Western Heights:


(Click this Dover Priory Rail Station at Night text link to see the largest size)

The Victorian Dover Priory is also referred to as Dover Priory Train Station and Dover Priory Railway Station.

The two columns of orange blobs on the left-hand side of the photo are reflections from off the carraige roofs of trains parked in the freight area of the station.

Below the centre of the photo a covered foot-bridge (approx. 350 yards away) joins platforms 2 and 3 on the left to platform 1 and the Booking Hall on the right. Platform 3 is the outermost of the detached platforms and has a silver-topped train parked alongside it.

Trains to Deal, Ramsgate, Canterbury East, and London Victoria leave Dover Priory through the tunnel at the top of the photo.

Trains to Folkestone Central, Ashford International (Channel Tunnel, Chunnel), and London Charing Cross leave the station through a tunnel beneath the Western Heights.

To the right of the Booking Hall is Priory Station Approach Road with the Priory Hotel (pub) on the other side (with light trails).

Canterbury Tornado 60163 Steam Locomotive, Dover Priory Rail Station, Kent, UK

The LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 no 60163 Tornado Steam Locomotive venting steam while stationary at Platform 1 of the Victorian Dover Priory Railway Station, England:


(Click this Canterbury Tornado 60163 Steam Locomotive text link to see the largest size)

LNER stands for "London and North Eastern Railway".

The steam is partially obscuring The Priory Hotel on the far side of Priory Station Approach Road. The houses to the right of the pub front onto Priory Gate Road, the western border to Dover College. The flat-roofed white building towards top-left is the Dover Priory Booking Hall.

The photo was taken from the road-bridge on Folkestone Road at 5.47 pm on Saturday, June the 18th, 2011, during an evening cycle ride around town (Robsons Yard - Eastern Docks - Prince of Wales Pier - Robsons Yard).

The Canterbury Tornado is shown part-way through a Willesden - Canterbury - Willesden (Brent, London) round-trip railtour calling at the train stations listed below:

Funeral Locomotive of King George VI, Dover Priory Railway Station, Kent, UK

A view of the BR Britannia Class 7MT 4-6-2 no 70000 Britannia Steam Locomotive hauling the 12-coach Cathedrals Express as she passed through Dover Priory Railway Station at 5.47 pm on Thursday 7 April 2011:


(Click this BR Britannia Steam Locomotivetext link to see the largest size)

For many years, Britannia had her cab roof painted white. This was to commemorate her pulling the funeral train of King George VI - of "The King's Speech" film fame - from Norfolk to London following his death on the 6th of February 1952 at Sandringham House, Norfolk.

This visit to Dover was part of the Britannia's debut Main Line railtour after two test runs - and she was right on time! The route was from Oxford - Canterbury - Oxford, calling at the following stations:

Outward Journey (Headcode 1Z71 )

Oxford depart 09:22
Reading 10:08
London Kensington Olympia: 11:26
Maidstone East 12:53
Ashford Int 13:24
Canterbury West arrive 13:45

Return Journey (Headcode 1Z73 )

Canterbury West depart 16:51
Minster 17:14
Deal 17:28
Dover Priory 17:47
Folkestone Central 18:01
Ashford Int 18:17
Headcorn 18:28
Paddock Wood arrive 18:39 (water)
Paddock Wood depart 18:54
Tonbridge 19.13
Seven Oaks 19.23
Orpington 19.35
Bromley South 19.53
London Kensington, Olympia 20.42
Slough 21.19
Reading 21.47
Didcot Parkway 22.10
Oxford 22.45