STEAM enthusiasts were in for a real treat when the Peppercorn A1 Pacific locomotive Tornado left York Railway Museum (YRM) heading south.

The engine - a new replica built from scratch by a charitable trust - travelled to Derbyshire for a final test run before its first passenger-carrying journey, from Leicester to Carlisle on May 22.

Registered charity A1 Steam Locomotive Trust chairman Steve Davies, a former director at YRM, said: “We had a lovely run out of York. But if any of the A1 locos had survived, Tornado wouldn’t exist.

“The fact that they had all been scrapped was the incentive to build one. The trust did try to save one, No 16145 St Mungo, but sadly it went to the scrapyard before the money could be raised. But you had a group of people who were thinking ‘why don’t we build a new one?’.

“The reason for building a new steam engine was, firstly, to recreate one that had gone and, secondly, because it could be done,” added Steve who, in 2013, was central in bringing all six surviving A4 steam engines together, on the Mallard’s 75th anniversary of achieving 126 mph.

“It was one of the quintessentially British ideas. We do nutty things we Brits and the more people say it can’t be done, the harder some will try to do it,” added Steve.

“The trust have also built the Prince of Wales and there are plans for a third.

“York Railway Museum has been our base for the last 12 months and we are very grateful to them for hosting us. It has been a very enjoyable experience.”

The journey to Barrow Hill in Derbyshire was made so that Tornado could get as close to the starting point of its first journey on May 22, from Leicester to Carlisle. Further journeys are planned throughout the year.

For more information and to book a trip on Tornado, go to: www.a1steam.com