Tornado

Wish he'd buy the Belmond Pullman (or whatever the VSOE British pullman is now called) and run most of the trains with his fleet of steam locos.

 

Doesnt matter. Covernentors still paying for the engine anyway, with the tender still to pay for!

 

What happened to Tornados plans of a self -running set of tours ?

 

Yes but they aren't going to last forever. Interest in the "brand new" engine is going to wane unless it gets itself out there more...

Having it sitting hidden away at Southall's not going to do much good! It might as well be parked at the NRM or Shildon or Didcot, somewhere where its going to be seen.

 

Rather worryingly, if I search for the trust's website on Google it says 'this site may be hacked' under it's name and url. False alarm?

Chris

 

I notice the A1SLT have just tweeted that "The Devon Belle" trip on August 25th will be 60163's last mainline outing in BR blue. I wasn't aware another livery change was on the horizon - anyone know what it will be? Forgive me if I've missed something obvious here, but I can't afford to spend money on the railway magazines at the moment, and I couldn't find the answer on the A1SLT site.

Oh, and sorry for starting a thread devoted entirely to livery...!

 

Back to apple green according to Railway Herald.

 

It is time for a new thread the other one was 300 pages long? You get the picture. I really liked this BR Blue paint scheme. Apple green will be welcomed if that is what they have up their sleeves.

 

Apple Green as its its "core" livery. Not my own favorite unless its on a rake of teaks. I thought it looked rather fab in blue with a matching rake of carmine and cream stock.

 

Repainted or overhaul as mention on UK steam?
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 or is 2008 included?(I don't think so) Have they decided to bow out a little early? I would think that might be a good move on their part possibly so that the WCRC dilemma can be resolved. I don't know.

 

The plan is to carry out a "heavy intermediate" IIRC. It's been 5.5 years (already!) since she entered mainline service and has run a fair few miles in that time. The A1ST are presumably doing so to avoid one big (and expensive) heavy overhaul a few more years down the line.

 

I also think it makes sense to do this now as well for many reasons. I went back to the UK steam.info for 2009 and it shows clearly that she did tours for A1stTrust, Pathfinder, Pastime rail, Torbay Express and nothing for RTC(WCRC). So this is nothing new. I was surprised.

 

As regards the Tornado/WCRC situation, I feel I must stick my head above the parapet once more by saying, there has to be a dialogue opened between the two parties, ( If this has been attempted, or is on going, please accept my apologies and disregard the following) this, as far as I can see is the only way forward. Granted, WCRC have absolutely nothing to lose by maintaining the status quo but, sadly, the same cannot be said for the A1SLC. I expect some flack for this and comments like 'why should we', but if anyone has ANY POSITIVE suggestions to help resolve this situation by any other means than dialogue I would be delighted to read them. As a contributor to the Tornado build fund, I really do care about her future and to travel behind her on the main line, this not only goes for Tornado but also Prince of Wales.
Andy

 

....watch this space....

Foxy

 

Thanks Foxy and Good Luck

 

Still, there's one final main line run in blue still to come - the Devon Belle on Bank Holiday Monday 25th August. I'm booked on this one with my wife and very much looking forward to it as I've never as yet had a run behind 60163 - not even on a preserved line! I checked with UK Railtours before booking and it is not meant to include any sort of diesel in the formation. Hopefully with a fairly unsettled look to the weather in the run-up to the bank holiday weekend, this will still be the case. A pretty good finale for Tornado in blue, featuring Savernake (both directions) Brewham (both directions) Hewish, Honiton and Whiteball. Having read about Tornado's performances in the past, I hope this trip will be up with the best of them.

 

Aaah, starting to make sense now, great news about the B1, which is already on WCRC's books, as far as I know ? Would be nice to see them both at 10A, maybe after Tornado's Heavy Intermediate ! or am I way too far in front.