Got to see Tornado yesterday

[User]

 

[upsidedown]

Where was that Mr P ? Beats the old piles of rust i see in Tyseley every day.

 

[Cathryn]

That's so beautiful, I LOVE steam trains!

 

[Globalti]

I used to live right next to the East Lancs Railway, co-owned by Pete waterman. One day they borrowed this:

"Eeh," says my neighbour Rita, "they've got that Nigel Dempster on the line this week...."

 

[Rob S]

I saw Tornado when it did several of the Torbay Express excursions this summer.....

 

[blazed]

How fast does that heap go? I could ride faster than it im sure.

 

[domd1979]

Apparently one of the drivers has been suspended for breaking the speed limit with it. Approaching a ton, which I hazard a guess is a fair bit faster than you could manage on your Chopper.

If true, bit foolish to speed - Tornado's fitted with OTMR (black box data recorder)....!! IIRC its certified to 75mph on the mainline, although the owners had originally wanted to go for 90mph which would be well within its capability.

 

[bauldbairn]

Apparently one of the drivers has been suspended for breaking the speed limit with it. Approaching a ton, which I hazard a guess is a fair bit faster than you could manage on your Chopper.

Deserved that!

Must be really tempting for the old steamheads to "put the foot down" black box or not - you know, just to see what it can do?

Last time I saw it I'm sure it was grey - maybe undercoat.

 

[Arch]

Deserved that!

Must be really tempting for the old steamheads to "put the foot down" black box or not - you know, just to see what it can do?

Last time I saw it I'm sure it was grey - maybe undercoat.

It was at the NRM in a greyish duckegg blue, which I liked, but which must have been a temporary coat. I think it's a shame - there's no reason why it should be in any company livery...

 

[TVC]

Tornado did its testing at the Great Central Railway, and earlier this year Mrs VC went on a driving experience. The driver that instructed her was the one who drove Tornado, and he wasn't at all impressed, to much electric wiring and gadgets for his liking. Don't supposed I would have said no though.

 

[domd1979]

I see the A1 Trust were offering cab rides on Tornado while it was at the SVR, a bargain at only £250......

 

[Speicher]

Is it still supposed to be unlucky to have a female in the cab of an engine?

 

[Arch]

There is, I gather, a school of thought that says for the money they spent building Tornado from new, they could have restored more than one old loco. And if you're going to built a new steam loco, why not build one up to date, instead of copying an old plan....

I'm not sure where I stand - I guess a lot of people enjoyed doing it, and I'd be happy enough to see a replica Viking longship - although projects like that are often as much to do with understanding the building process as the finished item - I'd assume the process of building a steam loco was fairly well documented....

 

[TheDoctor]

I suspect nowhere near as well documented as once it was.

 

[Arch]

I suspect nowhere near as well documented as once it was.

I'm not sure. Keenies will have copied anything they can get their hands on. I think Tom once had access to the complete servicing manual for 35006 P and O.

One day she'll be finished, and hopefully we can put some of his ashes in the firebox...