THE CHESHIREMAN - London Euston to Chester A1 Class 60163 Tornado

The Cheshireman
  - Thursday 15th July 2021

Steam Hauled realtor, London (Euston) to Chester with A1 Class locomotive 60163 Tornado.
Route
London Euston (pu) - Watford Junction (by service train to Milton Keynes) (pu) - Milton Keynes Central (pu) - Northampton (pu) - Rugby (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Stafford - Crewe - Chester and return.

This tour offers a wonderful opportunity to travel by a special charter train to the historic city of Chester. The train will be steam-hauled throughout from London Euston to Chester by A1 Class locomotive No. 60163 Tornado. We will follow the route of the famous express such as the Royal Scot along the west coast main line (WCML) to Crewe and then onwards to Chester. We can expect some spirited running down the WCML to Crewe. Be sure to book early to join us on this historic occasion.

‘The Cheshireman’ will leave London Euston at around 07:00 steam hauled behind Tornado. Initially on departure we shall hear our locomotive working hard on the climb up Camden Bank. We continue through Watford Tunnel into rural Hertfordshire. We stop to pick up further passengers at the 1960s ‘new town’ of Milton Keynes, where passengers from Watford Junction will join by service train. At Hanslope Junction, we leave the West Coast Main Line (WCML) and take the Northampton loop line where we stop again for passengers.

We continue northwards and pass the Daventry Railfreight Terminal (DIRFT) before re-joining the WCML at Rugby, a further pick up stop, and the birthplace of rugby football and the jet engine. We then follow the Trent Valley Line to Nuneaton, our final stop to pick up passengers. We pass through Lichfield, notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, and soon after Rugeley is Shugborough Tunnel. This has ornamental grand entrances, the result of conditions required by the Earl of Lichfield for building the line across his estate. We continue northwards through Stafford to the famous railway junction town of Crewe where we take the North Wales Coast Line to Chester.

There will be around four hours to explore the Roman city of Chester, one of the most visited places in the UK. Chester lies on the river Dee, close to the border with Wales, and is one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain. The city contains a number of medieval buildings and is famous for its 14th Century ‘Rows’, the first floor level galleried walkways connecting shops and cafes. Other places of interest include the Castle, the Cathedral, and the picturesque racecourse, which is located between the city walls and the river Dee.

Our special train, hauled on the return journey by our steam locomotive Tornado, leaves Chester late afternoon for the return journey to London Euston. We stop at the same stations as on the outward journey to set down passengers, and this tour promises to be one of excitement as Tornado is allowed to reach its maximum permitted speed along the WCML.

Steam Hauled by A1 Class Pacific '60163 Tornado'
The original Peppercorn A1 series were ordered by the LNER, but the 49 locomotives were built at Doncaster and Darlington for British Railways (BR) in 1948–49, after the nationalisation of the railways in the United Kingdom. Following the modernisation and dieselisation plans of the 1950s, the A1 Peppercorn class was eventually scrapped at a comparatively early age of just 15 years.

The original Peppercorn A1s were designed to cope with the heaviest regular post-war East Coast trains. The A1 Trust intended Tornado to be built from scratch, designed and built as the next locomotive in the A1 Peppercorn class, not as a replica or restoration project, but an evolution of the class incorporating design improvements that would have occurred had steam motive power continued on the mainline railway.
  
Tornado moved under its own power for the first time on 29th July 2008 at Darlington, and then spent two months at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough, where it was tested up to 60 mph (97 km/h) and operated its first passenger train. Tornado then moved to the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York for three test runs on the main line up to 75 mph (121 km/h). After repainting from works grey into LNER Apple Green, Tornado was approved for mainline passenger operation. On 31st January 2009 Tornado hauled its first passenger trip on the main line, The Peppercorn Pioneer, from York to Newcastle and back. By hauling various A1 Trust railtours, charters and other activities, Tornado will begin to recoup the estimated £800,000 debt from the project, which cost around £3 million.