Monday 11th October 2010
Report and pictures by Adam Parrish
Don't worry, not a freak weather incident, but around 1,000 people flocked to Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway centre on a beautiful autumn Sunday (10th October) to take advantage of the chance to ride behind the famous A1 steam locomotive 'Tornado' and for a lucky few there was a unique opportunity to ride on the footplate of the magnificent main line engine!
The magnificent Tornado at the Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway
A1 No. 60163 Tornado is the first UK large steam locomotive to be built since 1960. It's taken 15 years for the A1 Locomotive Trust to build it from scratch and was launched in 2008.
Local boy James Parrish tries out the drivers seat for size
 Since then, Tornado has hauled many steam tours all over the country's mainlines and made appearances on preserved railways including the Barrow Hill Roundhouse. It has also appeared on the TV programme 'Top Gear'.
On the week prior to the event, there was a rare opportunity to actually fire and drive this famous engine at Barrow Hill for a day. The loco owners, the A1 Trust also held their annual convention there.
The site at which the event was held is unique in itself, being the last operational Railway roundhouse in the country. It was secured for preservation only a couple of days before it was due to be demolished by it's previous owner, British Rail. Between 1992 and 1998 a lot of hard work and effort was put in by committed volunteers to restore the roundhouse to it's former glory. The first open day was held in 1998 and since then the events have gone from strength to strength.
Amelia Elvidge takes over the controls
The Roundhouse is normally open at Weekends from 10am to 4pm, entry by donation. The next major event for the roundhouse will be the 'Santa Specials' on Sunday 12th and 19th December, For more details about this and future events please visit www.barrowhill.org.uk
Due to the success of the event, the A1 Loco Trust is hoping to host it again at Barrow Hill next year. For further details about 'Tornados' appearances please visit the A1 trusts website at www.a1steam.com.
Mervyn Allcock, Barrow Hill Roundhouse General Manager said: "We were all very pleased at how many people turned out to see Tornado and we hope to run an event like this again in the future."
10/10/10 was a memorable day for all those who attended! |
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