A1 Steam Locomotive Trust

The trust had its origins in an informal discussion in Darlington on 24 March 1990, discussing the feasibility of the project, followed by the first announced public meeting on 28 April that year, chaired by the first chairman, Mike Wilson. The trust was formally launched on 17 November 1990, to a meeting at The Railway Institute in York, followed by further presentations in London and Edinburgh. In Spring 1993 the trust formed the Locomotive Construction Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the trust, to build Tornado. In Summer 1993 the trust became the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. This was required to take advantage of the tax efficiency of covenants. The trust held the first of what would become annual conventions at a Doncaster school on 17 September 1994, attended by 210 people. The trust went online in the autumn of 1996, and revamped their website in 2008. The trust had a major crisis in 2001 when a volunteer made several allegations to covenantors regarding defects, over several months. The issue was resolved to the satisfaction of the trust's auditors, VAB and the Charity Commissioners, although the crisis was estimated to have cost £31,500 in lost income, £150,000 in management time, and a five-figure sum for an independent engineering survey. In addition, it was estimated to have put back the completion date for Tornado by two years. == Tornado project ==

'', the brand new locomotive built by the Trust The Tornado project aimed to complete the task of building the locomotive from scratch, with no recovered/restored parts, a feat never achieved in the preservation movement before, with construction taking 10 years. With inflation and material cost increases, the actual spend has increased to £3m. The trust has financed the Tornado project with a system of regular and one off covenants and industrial sponsorship, as well as negotiating generous terms from several manufacturers. Significant costs were saved in the project by securing parts from companies for free or at significant discount. The trust has also issued bonds to investors in return for financial contributions. Bond holders in return receive interest, and a repayment of the bond on maturity. By 2005 the trust's monthly income was over £10,000 and rising. == Selecting a construction site ==

The original LNER Doncaster and Darlington works were ultimately self-sufficient, but no comparable locomotive workshops remain in the UK, so that the building of Tornado required the use of a large number of sub-contractors in varying locations, requiring multiple suppliers to build components such as the cylinders. Tornado would then be assembled at a site by the Trust. In Spring 1992 the trust announced that it intended to build Tornado in Britain, and not, as had been suggested, overseas, possibly in Poland, although possibly some parts would need to be built overseas. In 1993 the trust signed an agreement with Doncaster council to build Tornado at an unspecified site in the town. The agreement with Doncaster council later broke down, so it was decided to begin construction at Tyseley Locomotive Works, beginning in 1995. == Darlington Locomotive Works ==

'' outside the works The majority of Tornado was assembled at the Trust's Darlington Locomotive Works () in the northern suburbs of Darlington, a stone's throw from the original Darlington Works. The works occupy the southern half of the former Hopetown Carriage Works building, part of the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum (Head of Steam), situated alongside Hopetown Lane. In 1995, Darlington borough council offered the trust use of the Hopetown carriage works, at an appropriately named Peppercorn rent. The trust named the Hopetown site as the Darlington Locomotive Works. The renovation of the building was assisted with £300,000 in European, National and local grants. After nine months of conversion work, the Hopetown facility opened and became the Trust's centre of operations. This was timed in conjunction with the trust's fourth annual convention, with Tornado unveiled at the facility, having arrived from Tyseley two days earlier. '' inside the works In 2001, Darlington Borough Council decided to move the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group into the unrefurbished north end of the carriage works, meaning the trust consolidated in the southern half of the building. As such, the works consist of a space less than 30 metres long by 15 metres wide. The A1 works are not rail connected. The now disused main line connection of the former carriage works entered from the northern end of the building. A dividing wall was built between the two uses. The works contained a single ‘road’, a piece of track over an inspection pit allowing work underneath the locomotive. A £10,000 grant from Darlington borough council also allowed the purchase of a five-tonne crane and four hydraulic jacks. The works also consisted of a specially laid straight piece of track extending the works road for approximately out of the works door. This was used to load and unload components from outside, conduct the boiler tests, and eventually conduct the first steam trials of Tornado. The locomotive was constructed in the works road facing the dividing wall, with the tender frame being delivered outside and wheeled in to mate with the rear of the locomotive. == Personnel ==

Honorary Officers of the Trust include its president, Dorothy Mather (widow of the designer of the A1s A. H. Peppercorn) and the Vice President, Peter Townend, former Shed Master of the Kings Cross Top Shed, Trust member Geoff Drury, who died in October 1999, was the previous owner of 60532 Blue Peter, the only other preserved Peppercorn Pacific and had also saved Gresley A4 4464 Bittern. An attempt had been made by enthusiasts including Geoff Drury to save the last remaining A1 Peppercorn, No. 60145 Saint Mungo, however the locomotive was scrapped in the autumn of 1966. On 15 July 2000, chairmanship of the trust changed hands to the marketing director, city director and train enthusiast Mark Allatt, due to the ill health of the incumbent's wife. == Talisman railtours ==

As part of the fundraising for the Tornado project, A1 Trust ran a number of railtours under The Talisman name, hauled by Duchess of Sutherland in 2005, Union of South Africa in 2006, and Bittern in 2008. Tornado's first public run for passengers was the Talisman on 7 February 2009, from Darlington to London King's Cross. The trip was watched by thousands of spectators along the line and by a large crowd to greet her at King's Cross. This was a positioning run for later tours, with the train returning north by diesel. == Other projects ==

Flying Scotsman tender In the autumn of 1991, the trust attempted to buy the frames of the redundant second tender of Flying Scotsman, in order to use its frames for Tornado. It was purchased from being in storage at the northern half of the GCR at Ruddington. It was to be moved to Darlington works in October 2008. It had previously been used on Steam Locomotive Operators' Association (SLOA) pullman trains in the 1980s, and was also at the Telford Steam Railway and Lavender Line heritage railways. == Future projects ==

By 1998, with the state of the finances, it was speculated that if Tornado could be completed on time, all maintenance costs could be funded, and there could be a genuine possibility of a second locomotive being built. On Wednesday 13 August 2014, LNER Thompson B1 No. 61306 'Mayflower' was purchased by retired businessman David Buck from Neil Boden for an undisclosed sum. It was later announced that the locomotive would be managed on behalf by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. As of October 2014 however, the deal has fallen through, and 'Mayflower' will now be managed on behalf of West Coast Railway Company. == References ==