60163 Tornado was in Waverley today. This is a main line coal-fired steam train built in Darlington.
When it was built in 2008, Tornado was the first locomotive constructed in the UK since the Evening Star. That was the last steam locomotive built by British Railways in 1960.
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust – a registered charity – built a completely new ‘A1’ to the original design and with the help of the latest technology. Fitted with additional water capacity and the latest railway safety electronics, Tornado is fully equipped for today’s main line railway.
It is the only example of an LNER Peppercorn Class A1 locomotive in existence,as all others were scrapped and was on a charter trip from the south today. No. 60163 Tornado left the Wensleydale Railway and undertook a further proving run before moving to Doncaster ahead of the tour.
The train was named after the Panavia Tornado, an aircraft used by the RAF. Two years ago Tornado became the first steam locomotive to officially travel at 100 mph in over 50 years on British tracks.
The Tornado project began in 1994 at Darlington Works. Other parts like the boiler were made on other sites. Funded came from public fundraising with other funding from hiring out Tornado itself for special rail services.
It was completed in 2008, and full certification of the locomotive was granted in 2009. It was designed with compliance to modern safety and certification standards, and has been running services in the UK and on the connected heritage railways for the last eleven years.
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