THE all-too-briefreign of the Great Western Society's 'King' No. 6023 King Edward II is over.
The Collett 4-6-0 bowed out of public service at Didcot Railway Centre on September 13, having reached the end of its current boiler ticket.
The'King's' actual last day in steam was on September 15 for a private event for the Didcot workforce that afternoon, with the boiler ticket expiring at midnight.
It was a sad day for those who have worked closely with the locomotive since it first returned to steam in 2011 after a Project Impossible restoration.
Karl Buckingham, the loco's chief engineer, even likened the dropping of the last fire to being made redundant.