A1 Trust

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is a Darlington, England based charitable trust formed in 1990 for the primary purpose of completing the next stage of the locomotive heritage movement, the building of a new steam locomotive from scratch (i.e. not a re-build of an existing locomotive). This project became the construction of 60163 Tornado, carried out by Locomotive Construction Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the A1 Trust. After over 15 years of fundraising and construction, Tornado steamed for the first time in January 2008.

In contrast to various other heritage projects, with an eye to timely completion and full certification for main line use, the founding principles of the A1 trust were to treat funding as a priority and not a distraction, to use professionals in their fields for the various posts needed, and to use the engineering industry for all manufacturing to meet the needs of certification.

By October 1999, the trust had the largest numbers of supporters of any British locomotive owning group, and represented a 20th of all railway heritage group membership. Some of the sums raised by covenanting were "unheard of" from railway enthusiasts.

The trust had its origins in an informal discussion in Darlington on 24 March 1990, discussing the feasibility of the project, followed by the first announced public meeting on 28 April that year, chaired by the first chairman, Mike Wilson. The trust was formally launched on 17 November 1990, to a meeting at The Railway Institute in York, followed by further presentations in London and Edinburgh.

In Spring 1993 the trust formed the Locomotive Construction Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the trust, to build Tornado. In Summer 1993 the trust became the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. This was required to take advantage of the tax efficiency of covenants.

The trust held the first of what would become annual conventions at a Doncaster school on 17 September 1994, attended by 210 people. The trust went online in the Autumn of 1996, and revamped their website in 2008.

The trust had a major crisis in 2001 when a volunteer made several allegations to covenantors regarding defects, over several months. The issue was resolved to the satisfaction of the trust's auditors, VAB and the Charity Commissioners, although the crisis was estimated to have cost £31,500 in lost income, £150,000 in management time, and a 5 figure sum for an independent engineering survey. In addition, it was estimated to have put back the completion date for Tornado by 2 years.

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