Tornado (60163)

In 1960 it was thought that Class 9F «Evening Star» would be the last ever mainline steam locomotive to be built in Great Britain. And, by 1968 all steam hauled services on British railways had ceased altogether. Many classes of locomotive were scrapped but quite a few were rescued and bought for preservation. It was not too long before preserved steam locomotives were allowed to return to the mainline for special tours, the most famous example being «The Flying Scotsman». Sadly, the Peppercorn A1 Class Pacific locomotives were not so lucky, all 49 locomotives were scrapped before the end of steam.

In 1990 the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust was formed with the aim to build a steam locomotive from scratch using original drawings. In 2008 after 18 years under construction, «Tornado» a brand new A1 Pacific locomotive moved under its own steam. Since then, 60163 has been a regular performer on the mainline network in the UK and in 2017 it achieved the coveted speed of 100 mph.

Living next to the famous Settle and Carlisle Railway I am fortunate to see from my study room window «Tornado» each time she hauls a special train through the Yorkshire Dales and on into Cumbria. Hopefully, in this piece I have been able to capture some of the atmosphere, power and majesty of this wonderful locomotive.