Tornado (locomotive)

LNER Class A1 Peppercorn 60163 Tornado
Tornado at the National Railway Museum in York, 14 December 2008
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Arthur Peppercorn (original designer) Builder A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Build date 1994–2008
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2 Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8 in (2.032 m) Trailing dia. 3 ft 8 in (1.118 m) Length 72 ft 11.75 in (22.24 m) Width 9 ft 2.875 in (2.82 m) Height 13 ft (3.96 m) Axle load 22.1 long tons (22.5 t; 24.8 short tons) Adhesive weight 66.55 long tons (67.62 t; 74.54 short tons) Loco weight 105.2 long tons (106.9 t; 117.8 short tons) Tender weight 60.9 long tons (61.9 t; 68.2 short tons) Total weight 166.1 long tons (168.8 t; 186.0 short tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 7.5 long tons (7.6 t) Water cap 6,000 imp gal (27,000 L) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 50.0 sq ft (4.65 m2) Boiler Diagram 118 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) diameter 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m) length Boiler pressure 250 psi (1,700 kPa) Heating surface 2,461.4 sq ft (228.67 m2)  • Tubes 1,211.6 sq ft (112.56 m2)  • Flues 1,004.5 sq ft (93.32 m2)  • Firebox 245.3 sq ft (22.79 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 697.7 sq ft (64.82 m2) Cylinders 3 Cylinder size 19 in × 26 in (480 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 mph (160 km/h) design 90 mph (140 km/h) certified Power output 2,700 metric horsepower (2,000 kW) Tractive effort 37,400 lbf (166,000 N)
Career Numbers 60163 (display) 98863 (TOPS) Official name Tornado Axle load class Route availability 9 First run 29 July 2008 Disposition Operational. Approved for running on Network Rail track.

60163 Tornado is a main line coal-fired steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways in 1960. It is the only example of an LNER Peppercorn Class A1 locomotive in existence, the entirety of the original production batch having been scrapped without preservation. The locomotive's namesake is the Panavia Tornado, a combat aircraft flown by the Royal Air Force. As of April 2017, Tornado became the first steam locomotive to officially reach 100mph in over 50 years on British tracks.

Construction of Tornado began in 1994, and was based at Darlington Works for most of the project, while numerous components such as the boiler were manufactured elsewhere. The project was financed through fundraising initiatives such as public donations and sponsorship deals; further funding came from hiring out Tornado itself for special rail services. Construction was completed in 2008, and full certification of the locomotive was achieved in January 2009. Having been designed with compliance to modern safety and certification standards, Tornado has been conducting passenger services on the UK rail network and on mainline-connected heritage railways since 2008.

The locomotive was built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a charitable trust founded in 1990 to build Tornado and possibly further locomotives. Tornado was conceived as an evolution of the LNER Peppercorn Class A1, incorporating improvements that would have been likely had steam continued, and changes for cost, safety, manufacturing and operational benefits, while replicating the original design's sound and appearance. Tornado, completely new-built, is considered the 50th Peppercorn A1, numbered next in the class after 60162, Saint Johnstoun, built in 1949.