Early morning on a bright day in the summer of 1957, against a backdrop on Conway Castle and the estuary of the River Conway, ‘Britannia’ class 4-6-2 No. 70045, soon to be named ‘Lord Rowallan’, coasts into Llandudno Junction station with an express from Holyhead to London. On an adjacent track, Ivatt class ‘2’ 2-6-0 No. 46447 departs for Llandudno Town to collect the daily pick-up freight. The ‘Britannia’ class ‘Pacifics’ were introduced by British Railways in January 1951. Altogether fifty-five were built, the last appearing in 1954. They had a comparatively short working life, the first being withdrawn in favour of diesel in June 1965. Two examples are preserved, Nos. 70000 ‘Britannia’ and 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’.
