Tornado

Part of the magic of the loco. I was there: waiting on Kings Cross on the opposite platform watching Jeremy Clarkson look around Tornado prior to the shoot and looking interested in the front of the loco. I am seen waving, through the cab window of the loco, when Clarkson first gets on the footplate.

I waved to them as they departed. Clarkson was on the opposite side but Graeme Bunker waved back to me from the cab. I then spent the afternoon back home studying for my then upcoming thermodynamics exam whilst reading updates on the net as to the train's progress. Very few people realised it was being filmed for Top Gear that day. I certainly didn't - until I saw Clarkson on the platform. I just knew she'd be in Kings Cross so went to have a look.

Ten years ago next year - the years have flown by!

I'd love them to do a rematch with Prince of Wales but perhaps that time has passed now.

 

Not a bad day for daytime TV - Tornado and Michael Schumacher on Top Gear followed by The Dambusters

 

or even against a 90mph Tornado...

 

Well well, I never knew that about Clarkson...

Richard.

 

She referring to Tornado and assuredly not Mr Clarkson!

 

I must point out the following, mind:

So unlike normal service charters, Tornado did get some preferential treatment on the day with regards pathing.

And that's why the 90mph speed remains significant. Had she been able to do that on that day, Tornado would have won the race easily - the extra 15mph changes the nature of the debate where pathing is concerned. I think Graeme Bunker put it best when he said it wasn't about the top speed, but the choice of paths available at those speeds.

We have to remember that the race to the north was an incredible achievement in itself. No locomotive at the time had taken on a train single handed to Edinburgh from London since 1968 (Flying Scotsman). Tornado was running on a railway where it was not possible to do what 4472 had managed - to genuinely run non stop - due to there being no water troughs on the route.

In reality, all things being equal, a time of six and a half hours as per the Elizabethan could have been possible, were we to still have water troughs today (thank goodness we don't - additional costs to maintain on an already packed national network).

 

Bear in mind that the on board representative from National Express East Coast could only make decisions of trains covered by his profession, East Coast. I believe that one of the factors that contributed to a delay in No. 60163's arrival through East Lothian and into Edinburgh was the decision by Edinburgh Signalling centre to run an as booked North Berwick - Edinburgh stopping service operated by First Scotrail, the latter of which was not involved with the Top Gear event and thus had no reason to delay their own service in favour of Tornado.

I do believe this would contribute to a few minutes on Tornados time.

 

The Tyseley 'Water Guv' might have saved at least one Water Stop...

 

That was indeed what happened. If we had not been behind that stopper Tornado would have won the "race".

However the whole thing was of course very artificial, purporting to be what could have happened in about 1950, when that was really true only for the steam loco and the road vehicles, not for the infrastructure that they were running on. The loco did not enjoy the benefit of troughs and the road vehicles did enjoy far better roads than had existed in 1950.

 

I'd heard about the tour the week before at one of the 6880 galas at Llangollen.

60163 was serviced at Hornsey the day before the tour, so word got round pretty quickly at work that it was for Top Gear. Clarkson Hammond and May were there in the evening with the film crew - I'd gone home at 16.30 sadly!

60163 was brought inside the shed for its FTR on the Friday too. I was chatting to one of the support crew about the tour. "How do you know it's for Top Gear, it's meant to be top secret!"

I'll have to dig out the photos at some point. 60163 was furnished with a bright pink First Capital Connect headboard at one point!

 

It would have been a different outcome if it had been the WCML and the A6.

 

In a way I’m loath to ask as it added to the drama and made great viewing but was there really a problem with one of the injectors during the trip?

 

To be fair though, didn't the car and bike leave London 40 mins late?

"What was not shown on the programme was problems with the bike which required considerable attention, there were two filming false starts with the car and bike leaving simultaneously, but the bike breaking leading to a third attempt. The car and bike left some 40 minutes after the departure of the steam train."

Also, according to May in a newspaper, he arrived "No more than 10 mins before the train". So it was still pretty close, even though Tornado had a head start.

 

Remember it being mentioned that there was considerably more footage than that shown in the program ( as is usually the case) and A1SLT were hoping to access/ publish this but nothing has come of this ? suspect the departure of Mr Clarkson might be a complication.

 

It always amuses me in those races that they get worried about the speed of the train - it will to however fast it needs to to get to its destination on time!

 

If you look at some of the filming on the roads it would appear that some of it was filmed on different days. Top Gear has always been entertainment. Would you let James May drive all the way to Edinburgh in your priceless car? I'm waiting for some footage of it heading north on a trailer.

 

I suspect not. It seems with these type of programmes that the producers simply can't resist jazzing things up with a bit of false melodrama.