Today the 49th anniversary of the end of steam in the south was marked by a special rail tour hauled by Stanier Jubilee class 45699 Galatea.  It was great to see steam on the mainline for this commemoration, especially considering mainline operations not too long ago looked in doubt.  Although this wasn’t a Southern steam engine, I was not bothered, indeed quite the opposite, It was great to see the spectacle of steam on the mainline, especially as it was a locomotive and class that I hadn’t seen before.

It was an unusually (for 2016) bright day and so the lighting wasn’t perfect, but other than that it was good to see both the locomotive and others enjoying the sight of it!

I was successfully photo-bombed by a Cross Country trains Class 220, but other than that am pleased with the results.

The pictures were taken in Eastleigh, where the special train stopped for a few minutes.

Galatea soon moved on and I watched it disappear underneath Campbell Road bridge which was lined with onlookers, including none other than Locoyard blogger Simon!  I had the pleasure of catching up with Simon for a coffee afterwards.

The final shot below is somewhat different and shows class 33207 Jim Martin at the rear of the service whilst Flybe Embraer ERJ-195LR about to land at Southampton Airport, representing a very different form of transport.

Thanks for reading!