Tornado, the first new main line steam locomotive to be built in Britain for almost 50 years, will be heading to Norwich on Friday 28th May 2010 with ‘The Great Eastern Explorer’ from London’s Liverpool Street station, promoted by Amethyst Experience Ltd. Not only will this be Tornado’s first departure from Liverpool Street but it will also be the first time Tornado has visited Norwich.
The brand new class A1 Pacific Tornado will haul ‘The Great Eastern Explorer’ out of London’s Liverpool Street station tackling first Bethnal Green and then Brentwood Banks, picking up further passengers at Romford, Shenfield, Chelmsford and Colchester before heading off to the historic city of Norwich. The train’s All Silver Service/First Class seating has deep cushioned armchairs where passengers can just sit, relax and enjoy, while the waiter and hosting service comes direct to the table. On arrival at Norwich passengers will have around four hours to explore the sights whilst Tornado is serviced. The return journey sees ‘The Great Eastern Explorer heading across East Anglia via Ely and Bury St Edmunds before rejoining the main line north of Ipswich. Tornado will then retrace her steps back to Liverpool Street station rounding off this wonderfully scenic circular tour.
The timings for ‘The Great Eastern Explorer’ from London’s Liverpool Street station to Norwich on Friday 28th May 2010 are:
epart from London Liverpool Street - 1023hrs
Waterstop at Colchester - 1144-1202hrs
Arrive at Norwich - 1322hrs
Depart from Norwich - 1610hrs
Pathing stop at Ely - 1721-1747hrs
Waterstop at Colchester - 1938-2010hrs
Arrive at London Liverpool Street - 2140hrs
Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented: “It will be exciting to take Tornado from London’s Liverpool Street station to Norwich on the Great Eastern Main Line for the first time with ‘The Great Eastern Explorer’. The Peppercorn class A1s were designed for the East Coast route and so it will be fascinating to see how Tornado performs on such different metals. Tornado is performing very well and the Trust is working hard to pay off the remaining £500,000 of the loans taken out to complete the locomotive and to raise the £100,000 needed to provide Tornado with her own support vehicle. Please visit our website at www.a1steam.com to find out how you can help to keep this remarkable locomotive on the main line where she belongs.”
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.