Really chuffed: First full-size British steam locomotive for 50 years fires up

First came the sweet toot of the whistle, then a steady hiss.

Finally, sporting her battleship-grey undercoat, Britain's first new steam locomotive in almost half a century emerged in all her majesty.

It was a sight that took those old enough to remember back to a golden age of rail travel.

Even though Tornado only had 120 yards of track to cover as she chugged into action in a Darlington rail yard, the moment was, with good reason, marked with a rousing round of applause.

Magnificent: Steam hissing from her pistons, the Torando takes to the tracks in Darlington

It was, after all, the culmination of an 18-year labour of love and an outlay of £3million.

For all her authenticity, Peppercorn Class A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado - to give her her full title - is a brand spanking new steam locomotive, built by more than 100 hands out of the fund-raising efforts of thousands of enthusiasts.

She is in almost every way identical to the last passenger steam engines, but with a few modern safety additions.

Graeme Bunker puts coal in the firebox onboard the train

In the final days of steam, the A1s - designed by Arthur Peppercorn for the London and North Eastern Railway - plied their trade until 1966, when the last of their class were scrapped in favour of the diesel engines. Yesterday was 40 years since the fabled 'last weekend' when British Rail ran its final scheduled mainline steam services.

The locomotive will be decked out with state-of-the-art electronics

But in 1990 a group of enthusiasts decided the A1 would chug again and began to build Tornado from original drawings held at the National Railway Museum in York.

Mark Allatt, chairman of the A1 Trust, was just 25 and could not remember steam travel when he decided to help - little realising that he would be using his annual leave from the City law firm where he works to help with the engine he loves.

Tonight he said the idea to build an engine from scratch came from a desire to resurrect an example of the steam locomotive at its peak.

The A1 Trust has built Tornado to be fully equipped for use on Britain's main line railways

'Not one was saved,' he added. 'They were the most reliable of their type on the railways, but sadly, with accelerated dieselisation, what should have lasted for 50 years ended up lasting for only 15.'

The project has received almost no public money, instead being funded mostly from 'people's pocket money' and sponsorship.

The Peppercorn Class A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado, a replica of the last passenger steam locomotives, prepares for its first test run in Darlington

In 1990, enthusiasts were asked to donate the price of a pint a week, which was then £1.25. 'Some of them have been doing it since 1990, so that's a hell of a lot of pints they haven't drunk,' said Mr Allatt. The work on Tornado is not complete, but yesterday was the loco's first public outing.

Once painted (apple green like the Flying Scotsman), she will be put through her paces and is destined for life on the main line where - like the Orient Express - she will be run privately and for hire.

It is the first new main line steam locomotive in Britain for almost 50 years

Capable of topping 100mph, she will at first travel at 70mph with an eventual top speed limit of 90mph. When she takes her first passengers, Mr Allatt is in no doubt 'there won't be a dry eye in the house'. As for her first public run, he said: 'It was phenomenal, so much blood, sweat and tears have gone into the project.'

On board for the landmark trip was Dorothy Mather, Arthur Peppercorn's 92-year-old widow and president of the trust.

She said she was thrilled. 'I was horrified when the whistle went off and I thought I would be deafened, but it was exciting,' she added.

The project to build a new Peppercorn class A1 was launched in 1990

'I think it is wonderful. My husband would not have believed it. He would be very proud, very proud.' Steam trains have long sparked the imagination and conjured up dreams of a bygone era.

They have inspired a wealth of writing, including W H Auden's Night Mail 'shovelling white steam over her shoulder'.

As for the volunteers, Mr Allatt summed up the feeling.

'The steam locomotive is the nearest thing Man has ever created to a living thing,' he said. 'You can't turn it on. You can't turn it off. You sort of coax it along and it hisses and it bubbles and it fizzes and that is not like a modern machine.

'A child when they first draw a picture of a train, they never draw diesel, they draw a steam engine. And that is what it is all about.'

Southern Pacific #4449

Built in 1941 as a 4-8-4 GS-4 'Northern' type locomotive, she is 110' long, 10' wide and 16' tall. With locomotive and tender weighing 433 tons and a boiler pressure of 300 psi, her eight 80" diameter drivers and unique firebox truck booster can apply 5,500 horsepower to the rails and exceed 100 mph. Retired to Oaks Park in 1958 for display only, in 1974 she was completely restored specifically to pull the 1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train throughout the United States to the delight of over 30 million people.

The only remaining operable 'streamlined' steam locomotive of the Art Deco era, this grand Lady of the High Iron pulled Southern Pacific 'Daylight' coaches from Los Angeles to San Francisco over the scenic Coast Route and then on to Portland until 1955. She is arguably one of the most beautiful locomotives ever built -- and kept that way by the all-volunteer Friends of the SP 4449."

Here is a photo from 2006:

I last saw this train doing a turnaround near Salem Oregon around 1995. Steam locomotives were just about gone when I was a kid back in the '60s, and it is wonderful to see this old iron in action from time to time.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.