Tornado

Very difficult times for the SRPS. I just cross the fingers and hope the fundraising appeal goes well and (Covid-19 permitting) they are able to operate tours again next year. It would be a terrible shame if the SRPS were unable to continue especially having such a long tradition of operating outstanding tours and I’ve been on several of these myself over the years.

 

I certainly would not authorize the payment for that paint job

 

If you did you can have my membership card back!

 

I'm glad I'm not the membership secretary then.

 

Tornado from the last decade in its Brunswick green and blue liveries.

 

Love that second one over the cut at at Owd ‘ill

 

Superb pictures - thanks for posting bobsungod.

 

Ditto.

 

There’s some lovely green spaces in ‘This Black Country’

 

Yep - The Hawthorns.

 

Clues in the name on that one!

 

As it’s all been very quiet in 2020 I thought I’d put together a compilation video of Tornado in action from 2012 - 2019:

 

On the subject of Tornado's liveries, is there any particular reason why she hasn't been carrying her rimless chimney lately? I remember her carrying it during her first spell in apple green, but IIRC the lipped chimney went back on for her first spell in Brunswick green and has remained on ever since. Is it just a matter of not having had time to change it, or have the Trust decided not to use it for some reason?

I know it is only a small detail but to my eye, the apple green livery just doesn't look right with the later chimney. I know the smokebox numberplate should have been mounted higher as well (which I guess is a more difficult detail to change), but somehow that was less noticeable when the chimney was right!

 

The rimless chimney doesn't lift the smoke away from the boiler (thus impacting driver visibility) as well as the rimmed chimney, which is why the former were replaced with the latter during BR days. Whilst the rimless chimney was initially used when 60163 was painted in her first livery for authenticity, the rimmed chimney is now used for practical reasons.

 

Interesting - thanks for the information. It had never occurred to me that the rimless chimeny might contribute to smoke drift, though it makes sense now you mention it.

 

https://www.a1steam.com/category/news/

 

Now that's an A1.

 

I don't know about the rest of you but I still think of Tornado as a new loco - it hardly seems five minutes since it was rolled out under its own power for the first time in July 2008.

She's coming up to 12 years and 2 months old since that occasion.

I spent some to last night looking through the records on brdatabase. It's a sobering thought that 60153 'Flamboyant' only lasted 13 years and 2 months in service, 60123 'H A Ivatt' was next at 13 years and 7 months completed. Even 'St Mungo', the Methuselah of the class worked for only 17 years, 2 months and 27 days. Just bairns, not even old enough to drink.

 

You're not alone there. I still think of Earl of Merioneth as a new loco .... and just look where that's at these days!!

 

I’ve a yardstick. I took my son for a ride on the 2nd day of public runs, before rushing home to drop him off at nursery school. He’s now 6’3” and does his GCSEs in the summer!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk