Pictures and videos as the vintage British India Line steams through …

The British India Line 35018 in Accrington <i>(Image: Jody Hudson)</i>

The British India Line 35018 in Accrington (Image: Jody Hudson)

A vintage train steamed through East Lancashire today and trainspotters have been sharing pictures and images.

The British India Line 35018 travelled through East Lancashire today (April 21), passing through Blackburn[1], Rishton, Oswaldtwistle, Accrington and other parts of the county.

Some fans of the train travelled to catch a glimpse of the train.

Steve Del Monaco captured a video of the train leaving Accrington[2] station.

Jody Hudson snapped a picture of the train at Accrington station.

The train has an extensive history and was built at Eastleigh Works in 1945, according to Rail Advent, a website that focuses on railway news.

It was withdrawn from service in 1964 after travelling around 956,000 miles.

In 1948 it was one of four Merchant Navy class train chosen to take part in the Locomotive Exchange Trials, which were used to test engines from each of the ‘big four’ railway companies on other companies’ routes.

In November 2016 the train steamed into Carnforth for the first time since it was removed from service more than 40 years ago.

In 2018 the train returned to the mainline to haul a train from Carnforth to Shrewsbury and back.

Hopefully, the train’s journey is more successful than the one it took in 2022, when it broke down near Lancaster after suffering a broken pipe.

After being fixed, another train was brought to Bentham to tow the train away.

Did you get a picture of the British Indian in East Lancashire today? Send your pictures to: [email protected][3].

References

  1. ^ Blackburn (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)
  2. ^ Accrington (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)
  3. ^ [email protected] (uk.news.yahoo.com)