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Resplendent in its new coat of paint, Tornado is seen at Carnforth - A1SLT

Tornado has been repainted in BR locomotive green as part of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust's 30^th Anniversary celebrations and to commemorate the last of the original class, No. 60145 Saint Mungo. 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 70^th 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. Steve Davies MBE, Chairman, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented, “Saint Mungo’s most famous run was on New Year’s Eve 1965 when the North Eastern Region of British Railways ran a special train from York to Newcastle and return to commemorate the ending of main line steam, the locomotive achieving 100mph on the return leg. Like others of the class it was bereft of its nameplates but its performance inspired the formation of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust in 1990 to build a brand new Peppercorn class A1 No. 60163 Tornado. “It wasn’t until 2008, when No. 60163 Tornado hauled passenger trains for the first time, that anyone had again experienced class A1 haulage and it was 2009 with the ‘Peppercorn Pioneers’ before true express speeds were once again experienced. “As part of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s 30^th Anniversary celebrations – and in recognition of the inspiration gained from this final survivor - we have repainted No. 60163 Tornado in BR locomotive green for the first time since 2012. This historic livery will be carried by the locomotive until her next overhaul which is now scheduled for 2022. We are grateful to Craftmaster Paints for their continued sponsorship of the painting of Tornado and to David Smith and West Coast Railways for completing such a fantastic job of repainting Tornado into BR locomotive green in such a short time.” 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).

At the same time, Tornado's support coach also received a new livery - A1SLT

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

• Saturday 12^th September – ‘The Queen of Scots’ – York to Edinburgh via Carlisle and return (Tornado from Carlisle) - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 19^th September – ‘The Ticket to Ride’ – Darlington to Liverpool and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 3^rd October - 'The Easterling' - London King's Cross to Lowestoft - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Saturday 14^th November - 'The Cheshireman' - Bristol to Chester - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Saturday 21^st November - 'The Cheshireman' - London Euston to Chester - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Tuesday 24^th November - 'The Gloucester Christmas Market and Cardiff' - from London - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Saturday 28^th November - 'The Yuletide Express' - Ealing Broadway to York (Tornado on outward journey only) - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Saturday 12^th December - 'The Edinburgh Christmas Market' - York to Edinburgh - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Thursday 17^th December - 'The Christmas White Rose' - London to York (Tornado on return only) - bookings through The Railway Touring Company
• Saturday 19^th December - 'The Christmas White Rose' - London to York (Tornado on outward journey only) - bookings through The Railway Touring Company

2021 programme

• Saturday 27^th March – ‘The Fens and Fells Flyer’ Cambridge to Carlisle and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 3^rd April – ‘The Aberdonian’ - Edinburgh to Aberdeen and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 10^th April – ‘The Caledonian’ - Birmingham to Edinburgh and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 8^th May – ‘The Cumbrian Explorer’ - Darlington to Carlisle and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 15^th May – ‘The Jorvik Express’ - Liverpool to York and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours
• Saturday 22^nd May – ‘The Pennine Explorer’ - Leicester to Carlisle and return - bookings through Tornado Railtours

All Tornado Railtours trains can be booked through the links above, or by calling 01325 488215. Railway Touring Company tours can be booked through the links above or 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 goes where permitted.