English: 70013 at Colchester station for Water Looking at the Easterling train from Norwich to London Liverpool street via the East Suffolk line. The train is hauled by 70013 Oliver Cromwell, a Britannia class locomotive built at Crewe works in 1951 and delivered new (like some of the other Britannias) to Norwich Depot (32A). The class was built by British railways as a mixed traffic locomotive capable of Passenger and freight duties, however in the East it was mainly passenger traffic. The class was designed by Robert Riddles and had many ideas from all the former regions (GWR,SR,LMS and LNER). They were very popular with Eastern drivers although some complained of draughty cabs. Bill Harvey who is famous for his time at Doncaster works and the Norwich shed master liked the class very much (Bill Harvey is also famous for helping to save the J15 and B12 at the NNR). The locomotives were mainly employed on the Norwich to London trains via the Great Eastern mainline (replacing older designs like the B12s and B1s). British railways gave these trains names like 'the Norfolkman', the 'Broadsman' was a London to Sheringham train, also the 'East Anglian'. There was also the 'Easterling' this train ran from Yarmouth South town down the East Suffolk line (this part has been lifted) to Beccles where the second half of the train came from Lowestoft (hauled by a smaller engine). The train was joined and ran to Ipswich and London. The train was hauled by the Britannias and the B1s. The locomotive on this modern rerun is 70013 which was allocated to Norwich, it often ran the Norfolkman and the Easterling. This tour had to run diesel from Norwich to Lowestoft then detach the diesel and run steam to London. The train wouldn't have done this in the day, Beccles to Yarmouth has been dismantled. The lineside was very busy as it has been many years (must be the late 1950s) since the class has been on this line. There has been a B1 (61264) and Tangemere (34067) on the line this century but the last steam was 2006.

70013 is also famous for being in charge of the last steam train to run under BR in August 1968. After that tour the locomotive steamed to Norwich and then Diss to stay at Bressingham steam museum for 40 years. In 2004 'Steam Railway' magazine launched a campaign to get the locomotive steaming for the 40th Anniversary (they had tried before but with opposition from Bressingham). The magazine and its readers raised part of the money for restoration and it was started in 2004. The rest came from the National railway museum who owns the locomotive. The first steaming was on the Great Central railway then the locomotive's debut mainline tour was the 15 Guinea special in August 2008. In September that year the locomotive re-ran the 'Norfolkman' in a very fast time. It has been in ticket (boiler) for about a year now so has approx another 6 years on the mainline and 3 on preserved lines. Another Britannia to Survive is 70000 'Britannia' this was the first of the class and the first of 999 locomotives BR would build to its own designs. It was also a Norwich engine so done many of the duties described above.

It is owned by locomotive collector Jeremy Hoskins and is under restoration for a return to the mainline this year. So we may be able to see two Britannias at Norwich one day.