LNER A1 No. 60163 Tornado is undergoing a major overhaul, which was planned for completion in June, however, the impacts of covid-19 resulted in boiler delays. The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has now released an update on 60163 Tornado.

The boiler work has taken place in Germany and is scheduled to arrive in the UK in late July.

There was also a delay at the works where Tornado’s driving wheels are having their tyres fitted. The crank axle wheels also needed some minor fixing before the new tyres are fitted. The wheels should be delivered by mid-July.

The locomotive will take a number of weeks to reassemble once all the parts are returned.

Painting, testing, and certification will be required to take place and is not expected that Tornado will be ready to haul the Aberdonian train in July and August. These tours have unfortunately been cancelled.

The situation further gains complications through the dispute involving the RMT. There is currently still ongoing issues for the industrial action which may have major impacts on the tours. This leaves a lot of unpredictability in the situation and also has a high chance of strikes continuing into July meaning that there is no guarantee that the network will be able to run effectively. This means that the tours could not be run with an alternative locomotive.

These are not the first tours to be cancelled owing to delays in the overhaul – but we cant wait to see Tornado back on the mainline.