Tornado, the new £3m steam locomotive named last year by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, with be returning to Wales on St David’s Day, Monday 1st March, with 'The Cathedrals Express' excursion from London Victoria to Cardiff and Swansea.

The timings for ‘The Cathedrals Express’ are:

London Victoria (Platform 2) 08:45hrs    

Kensington Olympia 09:07hrs    

Acton Main Line 09:36hrs    

Southall 09:44hrs    

Slough (Platform 4) 10:02-10:06hrs    

Maidenhead 10:14hrs    

Reading (Platform 8) 10:26-10:28hrs    

Didcot Parkway 10:48hrs    

Wantage Road 10:54hrs    

Challow (water loco) 10:59-11:11hrs    

Swindon  1123hrs    

Wootton Bassett Junction 1130hrs    

Hullavington 1139hrs    

Bristol Parkway (water loco) 1202 - 1216hrs    

Severn Tunnel Junction 1230hrs    

Newport (South Wales) 1242hrs    

Cardiff Central (Platform 4) 1303 - 1308hrs    

Pontyclun 1320hrs    

Bridgend 1329hrs    

Port Talbot Parkway 1344hrs    

Neath 1351hrs    

Swansea (Platform 1) 1410hrs    

Swansea (Platform 1) 17:33hrs    

Neath 17:46hrs    

Port Talbot Parkway 17:52hrs    

Bridgend 1808hrs    

Pontyclun 1819hrs    

Cardiff Central (Platform 4)  1832 - 1834hrs    

Newport (South Wales) 1854hrs    

Severn Tunnel Junction 1915hrs    

Bristol Parkway (water loco) 1930 - 1945hrs    

Hullavington 2004hrs    

Wootton Bassett Junction 2016hrs    

Swindon  2034hrs    

Challow 2049hrs    

Wantage Road (water loco) 2054 - 2109hrs    

Didcot Parkway 2115hrs    

Reading (Platform 5) 2131 - 2133hrs    

Maidenhead 2146hrs    

Slough (Platform 5) 2153 - 2156hrs    

Southall 2211hrs   

Acton Main Line 2220hrs    

Kensington Olympia 2239hrs    

London Victoria (Platform 2) 2259hrs

Tornado starred in an episode of ‘Top Gear’, first shown in 2009 and watched by over seven million people, racing a Jaguar XK120 car and Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle from London to Edinburgh, with presenter Jeremy Clarkson on-board. The new £3m Peppercorn class A1 pacific steam locomotive was built over almost 20 years by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a registered charity, at its Darlington Locomotive Works. Frequently headlined in the press and on TV, 60163 Tornado was the subject of a BBC documentary ‘Absolutely Chuffed: The Men Who Built a Steam Engine’ broadcast on Christmas Eve on BBC2 last year and now available from the Trust on DVD. The locomotive was officially named Tornado by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in February 2009 and has since entered service on excursion trains on the Network Rail main line.

Mark Allatt, Chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, said:

“There could be no more appropriate day than St David’s Day for Tornado to return to Wales. Having been officially named Tornado by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in February 2009, the locomotive was once more entrusted with The Royal Train on the Royal couple’s recent visit to Manchester.”

For last minute bookings on 'The Cathedrals Express' or availability please call the Steam Dreams mobile on 07775 735 005 on Monday morning.

The Trust respectfully requests that anyone wanting to see Tornado's main line passenger trains follows the rules of the railway and only goes where permitted.