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Top Gear takes on Tornado

A steam locomotive that has made headlines around the world is to feature in the country’s most popular motoring programme.

Tornado, the first steam engine to be built in England in nearly 50 years, will feature in a forthcoming episode of BBC’s Top Gear.

The locomotive, which was built from scratch by a small band of volunteers in Darlington in a project lasting 19 years, takes part in one of the races between the three presenters.

The locomotive, with Jeremy Clarkson on the footplate, races James May in a Jaguar XK120 car and Richard Hammond in a Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle from London to Edinburgh.

The new seven-week series of Top Gear will start on June 21, but it is not known when Tornado will appear.

The outcome of the race is being kept a closely guarded secret. However, even Jeremy Clarkson, who is normally scathing about trains and public transport, was understood to have been impressed with Tornado.

Mark Allatt, the chairman of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, said: “It was really great fun. A lot of work went into it to get it right, and there were all sorts of different permutations we looked into.

“We did the whole journey in about eight hours, but we had to stop four times, so the running time was about six and-a-half hours, which is one of the fastest journeys between London and Edinburgh ever by a steam train.”

For more about the Tornado, visit a1steam.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .

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