A RIDE on the last steam-hauled passenger train helped railway lovers mark the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on Sunday.

Didcot Railway Station invited passengers on board the historic engine and among visitors was 74-year-old Terry Monk, from Kennington, who worked with the engines at Didcot 50 years ago.

For the first time since the end of steam on the British Railways Mr Monk – who worked on the Railways in Oxford and Didcot for 45 years – returned to the railway station and was pleased to see that not much had changed.

He said: “I was invited there because I worked on the engines when I was a fireman in the 1950s and I used to work at the depot in Didcot.

“It was the first time I have been back and it was very nice. It brought back a lot of memories. Most of the engines I recognised .”

The railway centre put on a special event to mark the anniversary in the western region and included locomotive in steam and a photo display of the last days of Oxford and Didcot locomotive sheds.

Taking pride of place was the 6998 Burton Agnes Hall as the western region’s last steam-hauled passenger train.

It was withdrawn from the Oxford shed in January 1966 and was out on display on Sunday.