The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, the registered charity that built, owns and operates world-famous 100mph new steam locomotive No. 60163 Tornado, has repainted the locomotive in BR locomotive green as part of its 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Since completion in Darlington in 2008, new Peppercorn class A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado has covered over 100,000 miles and seen service on the Network Rail main line and heritage railways right across Great Britain. Highlights have included three Royal Trains with the first following the locomotive’s naming by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in February 2009; BBC Top Gear ‘Race to the North’ with Jeremy Clarkson on the footplate; ‘The Winton Train’ to commemorate the 70th anniversary on the Kinder Transport; the rescuing of stranded commuters in Kent; the re-opening of the Settle to Carlisle Railway; the first steam locomotive in the UK to achieve 100mph for 50 years; featuring in two BBC documentaries, ‘Absolutely Chuffed – the Men Who Built a Steam Engine’ and ‘Tornado the 100mph Steam Engine’, and starring in PADDINGTON 2 the movie.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust was founded in 1990 to build a new Peppercorn class A1 ‘Pacific’. The class A1s were designed by Arthur H Peppercorn for the London & North Eastern Railway and 49 were built in 1948/49 by British Railways. However, following dieselisation, all were scrapped by 1966 with the last survivor No. 60145 Saint Mungo being the subject of a failed preservation attempt. Examples of most of the East Coast Main Line’s famous steam locomotive classes were saved, the most significant gap being their final development, the Peppercorn class A1s.

Over the duration of her first boiler certificate Tornado carried all of the Peppercorn class A1’s historic liveries of LNER apple green (with ‘British Railways’ on the tender), BR blue (with the emblem on the tender) and BR locomotive green (with both the emblem and the crest on the tender).

The Trust is now working hard to get Tornado back onto the main line where she belongs and anticipate picking up the remainder of our 2020 programme as follows:

2020 programme

• Saturday 14th November: ‘The Cheshireman’

– Bristol Temple Meads to Chester (RTC)

• Saturday 21st November: ‘The Cheshireman’

– London to Chester and return (RTC)

• Tuesday 24th November: ‘Gloucester Christmas Market & Cardiff’

– London to Cardiff and return (RTC)

• Saturday 28th November: ‘The Yuletide Express’

– Ealing Broadway to York and return (RTC)

• Thursday 3rd December: ‘The Worcester Christmas Fayre’

– Norwich to Worcester and return (RTC)

• Saturday 5th December: ‘The Lincoln Christmas Express’

– London to Lincoln and return (RTC)

• Tuesday 8th December: ‘The Bath & Bristol Christmas Express’

– London to Bath & Bristol and return (RTC)

• Saturday 12th December: ‘The Edinburgh Christmas Market’

– York to Edinburgh and return (RTC)

• Thursday 17th December: ‘The Christmas White Rose’

– Cambridge to York and return (RTC)

• Saturday 19th December: ‘The Christmas White Rose’

– London to York and return (RTC)

All our tours can be booked through our website, www.a1steam.com/railtours, or by calling 01325 488215. Railway Touring Company tours (RTC) can be booked through their website:

www.railwaytouring.net, or by calling 01553 661500.

The Trust respectfully requests that anyone wanting to see Tornado follows the rules of the railway and only go’s where permitted.