Tornado, the first new main line steam locomotive to be built in Britain for almost 50 years, will be heading back to Kent on Monday 21st December 2009 with ‘The Cathedrals Express’ White Cliffs Christmas Luncheon and Dinner trains from London Victoria, promoted by Steam Dreams.
Tornado has returned to Kent from a busy period of operations on the iconic Settle to Carlisle line and her home route from London King’s Cross to York.
Tornado starred in the first episode of the last series of the BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ programme racing a Jaguar XK120 car and Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle from London to Edinburgh, with presenter Jeremy Clarkson on-board. The first showing of the programme was watched by over seven million people. The locomotive was also chosen to haul the British leg of ‘The Winton Train’ from Harwich to London’s Liverpool Street station on Friday 4th September 2009. The new £3m Peppercorn class A1 pacific steam locomotive was built over almost 20 years by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a registered charity, at its Darlington Locomotive Works in Darlington, Country Durham. Frequently headlined in the national and international press and on TV and radio, No. 60163 Tornado was the subject of a BBC documentary ‘Absolutely Chuffed: The Men Who Built a Steam Engine’ broadcast on Christmas Eve on BBC2 last year. The locomotive was officially named Tornado by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in February of this year and has since entered regular service on excursion trains on the Network Rail main line.
The timings for The White Cliffs Christmas Luncheon are:
London Victoria: 09:44hrs
Brixton: 09:52hrs
Herne Hill: 09:53hrs
Bromley South: a 10:10hrs; d 10:11hrs
Orpington: 10:19hrs
Tonbridge: a 10:40hrs; d 10:42hrs
Paddock Wood: 10:50hrs
Headcorn: 11.02hrs
Ashford Int: a 11:18hrs; d 11:25hrs
Canterbury West: a 11:48hrs; d 12:07hrs water
Minster: 12:26hrs
Deal: 12:48hrs
Dover: 13:03hrs
Folkestone Central: 13:13hrs
Ashford Int: 13:38hrs
Headcorn: 13:49hrs
Paddock Wood: 14:04hrs
Tonbridge: a 14:13hrs; d 14:15hrs
Sevenoaks: 14:26hrs
Orpington: 14:36hrs
Bromley South: a 14:43hrs; d 14:45hrs
Herne Hill: 14:56hrs
London Victoria: a 15:06hrs
The timings for The White Cliffs Christmas Dinner are:
London Victoria: d 17:48hrs
Denmark Hill: 18:02hrs
Nunhead: 18:07hrs
Swanley: a 18:30hrs; d 18:35hrs
Maidstone East: a 19:07hrs; d 19:09hrs
Ashford International: 19:34hrs
Canterbury West: a 19:56; d 20:09hrs water
Minster: 20:28hrs
Deal: 20:48hrs
Dover: 21:04rs
Folkestone Central: 21:14hrs
Ashford International: 21:33hrs
Maidstone East: a 22:00hrs; d 22:02hrs
Swanley: a 22:36hrs; d 22:38hrs
Herne Hill: 22:57hrs
London Victoria: a 23:07hrs
Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented:
“After a busy few months away from Kent it will be good to take Tornado back through the garden of England again with ‘The Cathedrals Express’. Tornado is performing very well and the Trust is working hard to pay off the remaining £600,000 of the loans taken out to complete the locomotive. Please visit our website at www.a1steam.com to find out how you can help to keep this remarkable locomotive on the main line where she belongs.”
The Trust respectfully requests that anyone wanting to see Tornado's main line passenger trains follows the rules of the railway and only goes where permitted.