The Anonymous Widower

60163 Tornado

In some ways one of the aspects of seeing the Winton Train at Boreham, was how professional it all was. Tornado steamed into view at the same speed of all the modern electrics on the line and in a few seconds, she was gone.  Are railway engines female like ships?

It was just like how as a child, when I used to see the Streaks (A4 Pacifics) at Oakleigh Park in the late 1950s and 1960s.  But then if you read the history of the new-build A1 Pacific, Tornado, you would expect that, as it is just a very professional engineering project, albeit with a rather unusual product.

There was criticism when Tornado was built that this British project had to use a German boiler. Wikipedia says this.

While the manufacturing facilities still existed in Britain to manufacture such a large component, due to the design differences from the originals, the Trust required a supplier with the specific experience of designing, building and certification of steam engine boilers to modern day safety regulations, as required by the European Union’s Pressure Equipment Directive.

In early 2002, the Deutsche Bahn Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works in the former East Germany was identified as a supplier. They possessed the required knowledge as mainline steam operation had continued in East Germany until the mid-1980s, and 70% of its work still involved steam, and they still possessed the powerful plate roller machines.

That to me is a very good reason for using a German boiler.  It also cost about the same as a complete rebuild of the boiler of the Flying Scotsman.

In a lot of other areas too, Tornado is modern, in that it can operate under the wires and in a completely safe environment on a modern railway.  She also has a modern air braking system.

Let’s hope we see Tornado  a lot more in the next few years.

An interesting aside in the Wikipedia article is this.

While Tornado will be limited to 90 mph (140 km/h) on the UK main line, there is a possibility that she could reach higher speeds, if transported to Germany. If she was towed through the Channel Tunnel, according to the Trust, Deutsche Bahn had informed the Trust that Tornado would be allowed to run “as fast as [they] like”.

Perhaps, if there is another Winton train, Tornado could do the whole route!

September 4, 2009 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Engineering, Trains