Tornado

All seems to have gone silent on this Loco recently. Much the same for 'Royal Scot', too.

 

Define "silent" - looked terrific at Railfest and there are regular updates on the website, on the facebook group and in the magazines regarding mainline runs.

The locomotive is working well and performing satisfactorily.

As for Royal Scot - your guess is as good as mine!

 

Perhaps I should have added 'on here'.

 

Threads merged.

Richard

 

Richard - it went silent when they got the job right and silenced the naysayers!

 

Second that Frank.

 

I doubt if Tornado will be "silent" this coming Saturday evening when tackling the 1 in 60 up to Sapperton Tunnel wit hthe return "Cathedrals Express"!

 

Mmmm..... with nothing else to complain about, some folk bleat that the exhaust is too quiet! You just can't win, eh?

Foxy

 

Good point frank!!!

 

Perhaps everyone ought to have kept quiet in the light of today's 'blip'1

I suppose it was tempting fate:tape:

 

Can you elaborate on "blip"?

(On a side note, it's amazing how the universe works sometimes!)

 

Not running tomorrow. Duke to the rescue.

 

Eightpot's a bloody Jonah! :frown: The news is that 60163 failed her FTR with a stuck safety valve. :redface: I guess this can't be fixed safely with the loco in steam and by the time she's cooled down enough to permit a repair there won't be enough time to fire her up again..... No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester has picked up the baton for a welcome blast on the main line.

Foxy

 

Ah well, these things will happen. Hope the A1 Trust get it sorted quickly and painlessly.

 

Damn good 3 cyl super-sub I'd say

 

The newest standard gauge pacific in Britain is replaced by the most modern...can't be bad!

 

Tornado Convention at Peterborough 15 September 2012

Once a year the A1 Locomotive Trust holds a Convention for its 2551 covenantors (regular contributors) to feed back on the past year and outline future plans. This year's event was held at the Great Northern Hotel Peterborough, followed by a ride behind Tornado on the nearby Nene Valley Railway, accompanied by an excellent lunch served by our hosts on the preserved line.

The Trust reported a successful year financially, with income comfortably exceeding costs. However, when income from covenantors and merchandise are excluded, it was clear that hire fees alone will not fund end-of-ticket overhauls. After 58000 miles in service, Tornado is two-thirds of the way towards a general overhaul. The boiler is in good shape and the problems of maintenance this year have been minor.

There have been 29 main line runs and five heritage railway visits. Next year will also see the Trust hopefully run four more trains itself, a repeat Elizabethan and three tours all starting at or north of Sheffield - good news for many of us!

Finally on Tornado, it was reported that the loco will be repainted into early BR blue in November 2012!

There was then a presentation of the computer modelling done to test the feasibility of successfully running a brand new P2 2-8-2 loco like Cock o' the North on a 21st century railway. So far so good, but there is a long long way to go!

Then the coaches ferried us round to Peterborough NVR station where Tornado shortly arrived with our special train. She looked, sounded and ran magnificently as usual, marred only by a wicked headboard!

See 12 pictures at Zenfolio | Peter Hewitt's Transport Pictures | Tornado Convention at Peterborough 15 September 2012

Peter, on a grey wet September afternoon back in Manchester
Zenfolio | Peter Hewitt's Transport Pictures

 

Anything about whether she's going back into Apple Green or into BR Express Blue next. I think she's due to be repainted at the end of the year.

 

Sorry Dan, I omitted this news from my post, now amended.

Tornado will go into BR Blue this coming November!

Peter, still grey and wet in Manchester
Zenfolio | Peter Hewitt's Transport Pictures