Hi all. Well, its official, today a "Tornado" struck the 7-mile preserved Great Central Railway...but wait!...its not what you think...the whirlwind was the new-build 4-6-2 Peppercorn A1 Pacific No60163, aptly named "Tornado"! The most disastrous consequence was however, not torn trees or battered buildings, it was simply the fact of..."Standing Room Only!". I had heard that 60163, which made her debut in October 2008 at the GCR, was returning to the Leicestershire line whilst
there was a short break in her main line commitments. Therefore, as I hadn't seen the striking A1 new-build yet, a visit was fundamental! This weekend, which was dubbed an "All Steam Weekend", normal fares applying, seemed a good a time as any therefore. The A1 would be running alongside another visitor, that I had never seen before; 2-6-4 BR Riddles 4MT Tank No80072, recently restored on the Llangollen Railway. The third and final steam loco in action would be, a personal favourite of mine, the only-operational LMS Jubilee of the four preserved; No5690 "Leander". 
Therefore, with normal fares in operation, this three-steamer offering was too good to miss! With dark skies overhead, I arrived at Rothley just after 10am, ready to catch the first train of the day, hauled by 80072. Aboard the train, I found an empty window and was soon hanging out, listening to the beat of the newly-done 4MT. With chugging but, absolutely no clanking (as it should be!!), the 2-6-4 was soon at the site of the old Birstall Station; now Leicester North. Once there, in the continuous drizzle, the sizeable tank engine ran round before returning us to Loughborough Station where the beautiful, brand new Pacific awaited us. Into the platform we went and the 4MT was duly uncoupled. Up at the front, the huge 8-wheeled tender of the A1 appeared under the bridge and, oh so effortlessly, the huge bulk of the 4-6-2 carefully edged onto the waiting 6-coach Mk1 rake. 
Sporting her LNER headlamps (actually very powerful LED's!...not parrafin!), the A1 was sparkling, not surprising as she is actually less than 2 years old...well, running-wise anyway! Above, the 3rd cylinder, no doubt a Gresley-inspired feature, stands just off-set to the right on the engine's front. The electric lamps, very powerful indeed, can also be seen in, sporting one per lamp-bracket. The lamps are then powered by a steam-generator, a feature also spotted on Thompsons B1's, including "Mayflower" at Shackerstone. Wearing her specially cast nameplate proudly, the A1 really was a sight, and the number of people, young & old, swarming around her was unbelievable! (Anyone would think she was made of five-pound notes!...mind you, I bet the owners think that sometimes!). With my run-about ticket viable all day, I decided a round trip behind "Tornado", standing or not, was a complete must...just to say I'd done it. Therefore, I boarded the 11:30am service behind the Apple Green A1 and off we went. 
I must admit, 6 coaches at 25mph was hardly making her work, though she did sound nice...not often you hear a well-timed 3-cylinder beat! The whistle was very nice though, even if not "authentic" (it's an A4 one, not an A1 example), but the chime was nice...unusual location though...right underneath the right-smoke deflector, directing the exhaust of the A4-chime right into the view of the fireman's window (at least its not the drivers!). (A pic of the chime is seen on the left). Along the line, getting covered in soot whilst hanging from a coach window again, the A1 chugged along nicely...no...effortlessly! Around and across the Swithland Resevoir, people littered the lineside, camera's flashing and video's recording!
Leicester North was soon on the soggy horizon and the A1 pulled in gracefully. Pouring from the coaches, many of us decided to make our way to the short-reception platform on the East side of the site to watch 60163 run-round. 
However, the heavy rain was very persistant and all of our equipment was wet-through by the time the A1 eventually moved forward. (But, the main thing was...we got the shot). After the 15-minute run round break, the Peppercorn was off again, slipping back down to Loughborough on her 7-mile, relatively level journey. With the rain holding off again, Loughborough was alive with even more "Tornado"-fans and the perimeter of the engine was again swamped. Therefore, I decided to take a look at the third engine of the weekend, Jubilee "Leander", renamed as scrapped-sister, "Jervis". I didn't get to the bottom of why the engine had been renamed but, maybe "Jervis" was an ex-GCR engine? In the 1960's? Not sure! Any comments on this would be appreciated. Anyhow, owned by Chris Beet, the Jubilee has been at the GCR since January and will be staying for the short-term at least, as far as I know. Today, adorning the "South Yorkshireman" Dining Train headboard, 5690 (as 5663), was looking very well. I've always admired the LMS Crimson livery, but engines that now carry it are relatively few and far between. Therefore, its nice to see 5690 wearing it, and not BR Green! Catching the 1:15pm Dining Train (limited public accomodation at the back), I headed to Rothley where I alighted, after covering a total of 32 miles on the day's trains...not bad on normal fares! 5690 duly departed further into the horrid weather whilst I awaited the next "Up" train...hauled by the A1 again...
Sporting her very bright LED headlamps, the A1 could be seen through the gloom a good way away, but she was duly in hearing distance. Passing us, my video camera picked up the beautiful livery of the engine, and its cleanliness perfectly, despite the horrid conditions (pouring rain at the time!). 60163 gone, there was nothing to see until she returned! When she did so, her 3-cylinder beat echoed around the little station as she attacked the bank northwards. The video footage I attained today is spotted below...After seeing 60163 head off into the distance, 80072 was in sight, and she was the final loco I saw today, hauling an "Up" (Leicester-bound) service. With the bark of 80072 getting ever-quieter as she chugged off into the distance...my lift arrived, and off home I went. It had been a gloomy, dark, damp and relatively chilly day but I'm very glad I went as I finally saw the fantastic achievement that is the new-build A1 Pacific "Tornado". The massive amounts of skill, time, effort and patience that have been poured into this engineering masterpiece can only be applauded! Well done A1 Steam Trust...you have a beautiful locomotive for the World to Enjoy! Thanks for reading folks. If you want to see "Tornado" at the GCR before she leaves, check out info on the website by clicking here. Please comment if you wish...evening all!...
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