Tornado at speed through depot

On the four Sundays of July this year Tornado will be hauling a special train from Bristol to Kingswear. The train should be able to put up a fair turn of speed and should only lose speed when it climbs the grade from Norton Fitzwarren (Somerset) to the summit at Whiteball Tunnel and then pick up speed again once over the other side in Devon as far as Exeter. From Exeter to Newton Abbot and Torquay the line follows the coast in the main. The latter seven miles of the journey, from Paignton to Kingwear, is on my Heritage Railway (Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway) and is steeply graded. This will allow enthusiasts to hear her working hard on the grades whilst easily photographed, in highly photogenic locations, at low speed. There are specials every Sunday until the end of September but it will be great to see this loco hauling the first four of them.

I'm not sure whether it has been mentioned before on the Forum but in case it hasn't I understand the name Tornado was chosen to honor the aircraft of the same name.

Not sure what the EPA is RJ, but the UK regulations regarding railways, particularly steam ones, are very comprehensive.

The major factor in Tornados favor is being a new loco she has had all necessary requirements made/fitted during the building of her. Of all the steam locos in the UK that have been restored or preserved only a few can run on our mainlines. Those that can't are restricted to the many Hertitage lines we have over here.


Another factor, which I think has been also mentioned elsewhere, is that as a new loco she can run at up to 90 MPH making her the fastest operational steam loco in the UK and that is, most certainly, a crowd puller.


I am sure TAC or one or two others could furnish more facts and some percentages. I can't.