Tornado

One new build, one almost new build, and two cut and paste jobs

 

My coverage of Tornado heading for the Bluebell Railway yesterday. Seen at Grantham, Stevenage, Finsbury Park & Lingfield.

 

Cut and shut jobs, surely?

 

Today is the day that Tornado becomes the longest-serving A1.

It 'entered' service on 23 July 2008, so its life since then is now one day longer than St Mungo's operation life of 17 years 2 months 27 days between March 1949 and withdrawal on 19 June 1966

The average working life of the original class was 15 years 10 months 21 days, with the shortest-lived being 60123 H A Ivatt, at just 13 years 7 months 21 days.

Now that's trainspotting for you.

(Source BR database)

 

The comparative mileage would be in stark contrast...

 

Just a bit.

 

Ditto miles/shop time.

 

Indeed,Tornado hasn't been charging up and down the ECML every day.
I have happy memories of A1's backing down from Copley Hill (Leeds) shed to Leeds Central to do a KX service.

 

Me too...saw my first A4 there...

 

We're all in a good club.

 

First time I clapped eyes on 'Flying Scotsman' was at Copley Hill in 1960!

 

I can honestly say I was dumbstruck by the A4 which led to my lifetime affection for them. The soft exhaust beat as it struck out on the steep climb out of Central with a little fussy J50 pushing at the rear... magic..pure magic....

 

Saw my first one (60019) a little further up the hill at Beeston Junction before I’d even discovered Copley Hill. It became a regular destination once I had, part of a cycle ride taking in Holbeck an Farnley Junction.
An Ardsley tank is one of the great misses of preservation, IMHO. They were still around in ‘65. So close yet so far.

 

The previous few posts are my early spotting years in a nutshell. A DMU or Fairburn Tank dash to Leeds from Bradford for a day at Leeds or on to Wakefield or Doncaster. J50''s pottering around in goods yards or on ECS workings at Central plus banking duties. The Copley Hill A1's were our favourite big engines, the J50's the best little 'uns.

 

That was one of preservation's errors. We all wanted to reopen our local line and ignored the fact it had always been worked by a tank loco or occasionally a 2-6-0 and in later years a 2 car DMU. Having secured the line, so many then rushed out to buy a main line express loco.

 

Happy days. I've walked a fair few miles round Leeds. Bus from Heckmondwike, get off at Leeds cattle market, Copley Hill, Holbeck (Nineveh),Neville Hill, it was a fair old trek. One day I remember I started at Farnley, god knows how far I walked to get to Neville Hill.
I've been chased out of Holbeck more than once.

 

Copley Hill was almost impregnable. Nearby Low Moor was easy.....

 

Not sure this is wholly correct. As I remember it, there were two main routes to preservation, by official railway decisions, or scrap yard rescues. The last J50s were used at Doncaster Works and there was a very short time between withdrawal and scrapping. Preservation purchases took time to organise and fund and locomotives were scrapped too quickly. The highest proportion preserved of any class are the Cl4 Standard Tanks. This is because they were active almost to the end of the BR steam era and many ended up at Woodhams.

 

Wasn't there some folk trying to build a new one ? a J50...btw

 

Got as far as a Faecebook Page