>- I understand opinions vary on when the steam era ended. I think <=1956
is
>generous.
It is commonly regarded by the more formal historian and professional museum community that the end of the steam era was 1960. The late 1950s still saw some Class 1 steam, while the 1960s saw steam only on a few short lines and in Canada. Rolling stock, too, made a big leap in the 1960s, as Richard pointed out.
