Top Gear Race to the North
Encyclopedia
| Hammond Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:... , May James May James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.... and Clarkson Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May... |
No. 60163 Tornado LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado 60163 Tornado is a main-line steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, in 1960... |
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| Jaguar XK120 Jaguar XK120 The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car which was manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since the SS 100, which ceased production in 1940.-History:... |
Vincent Black Shadow Vincent Black Shadow The Vincent Black Shadow was a hand-built motorcycle produced by Vincent HRD from 1948. The series "C" which was introduced in 1949 had a 50 degree OHV V-twin engine running a 7.3:1 compression ratio.-Model history:... |
The Top Gear Race to the North was a three way race between a Jaguar XK120
Jaguar XK120
The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car which was manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since the SS 100, which ceased production in 1940.-History:...
car, a Vincent Black Shadow
Vincent Black Shadow
The Vincent Black Shadow was a hand-built motorcycle produced by Vincent HRD from 1948. The series "C" which was introduced in 1949 had a 50 degree OHV V-twin engine running a 7.3:1 compression ratio.-Model history:...
motorbike, and railway locomotive 60163 Tornado
LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado
60163 Tornado is a main-line steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, in 1960...
– a brand new mainline steam engine completed in Britain in 2008. The race saw the car, bike and locomotive, race from London, England, to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland, a journey of around 400 miles (643.7 km). Eighteen months in the planning, the race was filmed in secret on 25 April 2009, to be shown on 21 June 2009 on the UK's top rated motoring programme, Top Gear.
Dubbed A1 versus A1, the race involved Tornado, based on the design of the 1949 Peppercorn A1 Class
LNER Peppercorn Class A1
The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam,...
post-war British Railways express passenger locomotives running on the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
, pitted against the 1949 models of Jaguar car and Vincent motorbike, both being restricted to using the A1 primary road, rather than the modern day M1 Motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
.
After choosing their form of transportation out of a hat, car enthusiast Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
chose to run the race on board Tornado, leaving motorbike fan Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
to ride the Black Shadow, with Jaguar fan James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
in XK120. The race was to be the centrepiece of the first episode in the 13th series
Top Gear (series 13)
Top Gear returned to BBC Two for a 13th series on 21 June 2009, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig. The series contained 7 episodes. Despite forced budget cuts, series 13 contained new challenges, new power tests, more foreign travel and more...
of Top Gear.
The race saw No. 60163 Tornado, capable of over 100 miles per hour (44.7 m/s) but restricted to 75 miles per hour (33.5 m/s), break a number of records for preserved steam locomotive operation in Britain, including the first 'non-stop' all-steam-hauled passenger train from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley in 41 years, and a first for the steam preservation era, the run having last been achieved by Tornado's fellow LNER Pacific
LNER Pacifics
The London and North Eastern Railway operated various classes steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. The LNER operated more pacifics than any other of the Big Four British railway companies, and they were mostly used for express passenger work along the East Coast Main Line, though...
type locomotive and national icon, No. 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
, on 1 May 1968, with steam on British Railways having officially ended on 11 August 1968.
Background
The contest was billed as the 21st Century Race to the North, as a multi-modal version of the past-time railway races from London to Scotland. The term Race to the NorthRace to the North
The Race to the North is the name given to two summers in the late 19th century when British passenger trains belonging to different companies would literally race each other from London to Scotland over the two principal rail trunk routes connecting the English capital city to Scotland - the West...
had emerged in the 1890s with the various railway companies on the east coast
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
and west coast
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
main lines competing for passengers. This culminated in the 1930s competition between the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
(LMS) and the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
(LNER) companies for the prestige of having the official fastest London to Scotland timetabled service, before the Second World War changed the priorities for the rail system.
The post-war late 1940s were an era of resurgence for the railways, driven by the newly nationalised entity British Railways, which attempted to regain some of the prestige of the pre-war competition between the private railway companies. Part of this was the creation of a non-stop passenger express train from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley, timetabled at 6 hours 30 minutes. Launched in 1949 as the Capitals Limited, on from 29 June 1953 it was known as The Elizabethan, after the coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on 2 June 1953. The Peppercorn A1 class was never used on the original Elizabethan due to the lack of a corridor-type tender for crew changes on the move. The original trains were exclusively operated by the streamlined LNER A4 class.
The race was specifically given a 1949 theme, with the BBC postulating that the race might represent what Top Gear would have been like in 1949. That year reflects the fact that the original 49 Peppercorn Class A1s were built in 1948/9, and accordingly, the bike and car selected were 1949 models. The motorcycle was a Vincent Black Shadow
Vincent Black Shadow
The Vincent Black Shadow was a hand-built motorcycle produced by Vincent HRD from 1948. The series "C" which was introduced in 1949 had a 50 degree OHV V-twin engine running a 7.3:1 compression ratio.-Model history:...
, registration 750 UXL, the car was a Jaguar XK120
Jaguar XK120
The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car which was manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since the SS 100, which ceased production in 1940.-History:...
, registration SKE 7. According to the show, the XK120 and Black Shadow were the fastest car and bike in the world in 1949. Although Tornado is a brand new locomotive completed in 2008, her design was based on the original 1940s designs used for the LNER Peppercorn Class A1
LNER Peppercorn Class A1
The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam,...
locomotives, with appropriate modern day changes for engineering, safety, operational and manufacturing cost reasons.
The idea and much of the organisation of the race is credited to Graeme Bunker, managing director of railtour operator Steam Dreams and operations director of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is a Darlington, England based charitable trust formed in 1990 for the primary purpose of completing the next stage of the locomotive heritage movement, the building a new steam locomotive. This project became the construction of 60163 Tornado, carried out by...
, the builders of Tornado. 18 months before the race, Graeme had contacted the editor of Steam Railway magazine, who in turn suggested the idea of a race to the Top Gear producer.
Graeme also contacted Jeremy Clarkson directly.
The Top Gear producer's initial choice of locomotive was No. 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
, although due to her ongoing restoration at the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
in York, Tornado was put forward as a suitable replacement. The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is a Darlington, England based charitable trust formed in 1990 for the primary purpose of completing the next stage of the locomotive heritage movement, the building a new steam locomotive. This project became the construction of 60163 Tornado, carried out by...
saw the Top Gear race as a way to introduce more people to Tornado, following on from the publicity success of her being officially named by HRH The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, and the prestigious hauling of the Royal Train
British Royal Train
The Royal Train is a set of railway carriages dedicated for the use of the British Monarch, other members of the Royal Family, and their staff. The train enables members of the Royal Family to carry out busy schedules over an extended period, in a secure environment which minimises disruption and...
, bringing the locomotive to a new audience.
Until the run made by Tornado for Top Gear, the last time a steam train had made a non-stop run from London to Edinburgh was in 1968, with a special charter run by the Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB). The LCGB ran this special train on 1 May 1968, (returning on 4 May), to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first time this journey was made non-stop. On both occasions, the train was hauled by the famous locomotive, No. 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
.
In the preservation-era, steam locomotives had only recommenced departures from King's Cross in 1994, after a 30 year gap. The departure at the time was an Elizabethan train only as far as , hauled by No. 60009 Union of South Africa
LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa
60009 Union of South Africa is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built in Doncaster in 1937. Originally named Osprey, it is one of six surviving Gresley A4s and is presently undergoing an extensive overhaul.-Names:...
. In the following years, a goal of the preservation and railtour movement was to perform another all-steam-hauled train from London to Edinburgh. This was to have happened in 2008 as The Coronation
The Coronation (train)
The Coronation was a named passenger train of the London and North Eastern Railway which ran between and . Named to mark the Coronation of King George VI, the service started on 4 July 1937...
, using two engines, one taking a London to York leg, and then another taking the train on to Edinburgh. The plan failed when, while stopped for water at Tyne Yard
Tyne Yard
Tyne Yard is a railway yard in Gateshead, England, on the East Coast Main Line, operated by DB Schenker Rail Ltd. The yard is the major freight yard of the region, with the majority of rail freight movements in Tyne and Wear from around the UK passing through the yard.The yard is about south of...
, an inspection of No. 60009 Union of South Africa revealed an over-heated axlebox, meaning the train was completed using diesel haulage
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
. With the successful completion of the run by Tornado for Top Gear, she thus became the first steam engine to complete the run 'non-stop' for 41 years.
Cathedrals Express railtour
Due to the secrecy surrounding the plans to film the race, the rail part of the race was not openly publicised in advance. Instead, the rail charter was telemarketed directly to around 200 of Steam Dreams regular customers, as one of their regular Cathedrals Express tours, and as such, carried a Cathedrals Express train headboard. The tour used conventional diesel haulageDiesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
for the return leg back to London. The tour was only Tornado's second ever departure from King's Cross.
All passengers had been told about the tour was that it was to be an 'attempt to achieve the fastest steam hauled trip between Edinburgh and London since the 1960s'. While many rumours had persisted about this special tour, most passengers only became aware of the Top Gear plan on arrival at King's Cross.
Due to the tour being the first 'in one go' trip for a steam locomotive from London to Edinburgh for 41 years, there were many railway enthusiasts on the train, fulfilling a lifetime's ambition of this particular 'bag' (where enthusiasts attempt to travel on, or 'bag', every possible steam tour route).
Tornado's load consisted of 10 coaches, with the A1 Trust's maroon
Maroon (color)
Maroon is a dark red color.-Etymology:Maroon is derived from French marron .The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.-Maroon :...
support coach behind the locomotive followed by 9 dining cars of the Riviera Trains Royal Scot liveried
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
rake in carmine and cream colours The carriage load weighed in at 358 tons tare, 375 gross.
Given the headcode
Train reporting number
A train reporting number is used by railway staff in Great Britain to identify a particular train service. It consists of:* A single-digit number, indicating the class of train* A letter, indicating the destination area...
1Z63, Tornado was booked to complete the 390.2 miles (628 km) journey in 8 hours 2 minutes, without any passenger stops in stations, but with four water stops en route at Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
(Tyne Yard
Tyne Yard
Tyne Yard is a railway yard in Gateshead, England, on the East Coast Main Line, operated by DB Schenker Rail Ltd. The yard is the major freight yard of the region, with the majority of rail freight movements in Tyne and Wear from around the UK passing through the yard.The yard is about south of...
) and Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
, totalling 95 minutes booked stoppage time. The crew changed over at York; and at the water stop at Tyne Yard Tornado also took on more coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
.
No public trains were re-scheduled to create a special path for the charter train, however, the schedule planned in advance was crafted to avoid where possible being delayed by public trains. Also, in a departure from normal main line steam operation railway practice, the train was, where necessary, given priority over normal train services. This was achieved by having a National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
executive on board, communicating by mobile phone and radio with signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
es and train control centres.
Race conditions
The race was started on PlatformRailway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
1 of King's Cross station, and the finishing line was at the Balmoral Hotel
Balmoral Hotel
The Balmoral is a luxury five-star hotel and landmark in Edinburgh, Scotland, known as the North British Hotel until the late 1980s. It is located in the heart of the city at the east end of Princes Street, the main shopping street beneath the Edinburgh Castle rock, and the southern edge of the New...
, which is within walking distance of the exit of Edinburgh Waverley station.
The race was also billed as A1 versus A1, the LNER Peppercorn Class A1
LNER Peppercorn Class A1
The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam,...
design Tornado against the car and bike allowed to use only the A1 road, otherwise known as the historic Great North Road, which runs from London to Edinburgh and is the longest single-numbered road in the United Kingdom.
The rail route taken by Tornado, on the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
is 390.2 miles (628 km) long. The A1 road by comparison is 413 miles (664.7 km) long, albeit from St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
and not King's Cross, to the centre of Edinburgh, at the East end of Princes Street
Princes Street
Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, and its main shopping street. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile from Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east. The street is mostly closed to private...
near Waverley Station.
The race was to be run "as quick as legally possible", with the road vehicles restricted to the UK speed limit of 70 miles per hour (31.3 m/s), and Tornado restricted to its approved 75 miles per hour (33.5 m/s) main line top speed, where the line was not otherwise restricted by temporary or permanent speed restrictions.
Start
At 7am Platform 1 was cordoned off, as the camera crew filmed the three presenters drawing lots to determine which mode of transport to take. Jeremy Clarkson was allocated Tornado, May got the Jaguar while motorcycle fan Richard Hammond got the bike. Tornado was scheduled to depart at 7.25am. The race officially started with a blast on Tornado's whistleSteam whistle
A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound with the aid of live steam, which acts as a vibrating system .- Operation :...
. James May and Richard Hammond proceeded to the car and bike which were parked in York Way
York Way
York Way is a major road in the London Borough of Islington, running north for one mile from the junction of Pentonville Road and Euston Road, adjacent to King's Cross railway station towards Kentish Town and Holloway. At its northern end the road becomes Brecknock Road...
. Tornado left approximately 90–120 seconds late due to delays in the camera crew boarding the support coach. As seen on the programme, Hammond was delayed as he changed into his biker's leathers and was delayed again as he struggled to start the Black Shadow. The Vincent was eventually started by a motorcycle technician called Jim Church, who had been employed to provide technical support for the shoot.
What was not shown on the programme was problems with the bike which required considerable attention, there were two filming false starts with the car and bike leaving simultaneously, but the bike breaking leading to a third attempt. The car and bike left some 40 minutes after the departure of the steam train. After filming it was found that the problems with the bike were due to the film crew having changed the spark plug on the Vincent (without telling the technical support staff) to stop it interferring with the camera and sound equipment. (The bike had been checked pre-filming with the original plug and ran and started perfectly.)
Tornado on the main line
National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, running high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland, as part of the East Coast passenger franchise...
, and due to the modern features of Tornado's design, the run by Tornado set a number of steam preservation records, having been able to maintain 75 miles per hour (33.5 m/s) for long distances during the race. The 5 minute 57 second time to travel from King's Cross to was a speed record for preservation and comparable to 1950s non-stop trains. Due to her increased tender capacity, the initial run from King's Cross to was believed to be the longest preservation era non-stop run. Tornado was also recorded as taking just 27 seconds longer to reach than LNER A4 class No. 60011 hauling a Coronation
The Coronation (train)
The Coronation was a named passenger train of the London and North Eastern Railway which ran between and . Named to mark the Coronation of King George VI, the service started on 4 July 1937...
, which was hauling 50 tons less on the day.
Due to a continuous gaining of time in the first leg, by arrival at Grantham, Tornado was 6 minutes ahead of schedule. Part of the reason for the quick running was revealed on the programme as the need to repair a steam leak. This could not be addressed until the Grantham stop, so the speed was increased to allow for a longer stop. On leaving Grantham, due to a late-running National Express Leeds service, and a temporary track speed restriction, by Claypole, Tornado was 7 minutes behind schedule. Tornado was slowed down for a section near Doncaster after drivers had reported an 'exciting ride' while Tornado was hauling the Yorkshire Pullman on 18 April the week before.
By Colton Junction, Tornado had reduced the lag to 2 minutes, but due to a series of signals at the yellow warning aspect, on arrival at the York water stop, Tornado was again 5 minutes behind schedule. A quick stop meant that she left York on time, having been serviced by a road tanker. The time taken from London to reach Peterborough, Grantham and York were all preservation era records. Back on schedule and nearing the finish line, Tornado was forced to slow down for a stopping train ahead of her, as she approached Waverley
North Berwick Line
The North Berwick Line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with North Berwick in Scotland. The route follows the East Coast Main Line as far as Drem where it then branches to the north....
. Also, as revealed on the programme, during the latter part of the race approaching the Berwick stop, Tornado's speed had to be temporarily reduced to 50 miles per hour (22.4 m/s) due to one of the steam injector
Injector
ʎ̩An injector, ejector, steam ejector, steam injector, eductor-jet pump or thermocompressor is a pump-like device that uses the Venturi effect of a converging-diverging nozzle to convert the pressure energy of a motive fluid to velocity energy which creates a low pressure zone that dɯaws in and...
s (which is a device which uses the boiler's own steam to transfer water from the tender into the boiler, over-coming the high pressure within the boiler) failing to operate for 10 minutes, risking the boiler running dry which would have necessitated dropping the fire to prevent major damage.
With her arrival at Waverley after exactly 8 hours, Tornado's actual running time when subtracting the 96 minutes taken for water stops, was just inside that of the original Elizabethan runs of 6 hours 30 minutes.
Progress on the A1 road
The Jaguar made the early running over the bike on the A1 road due to Hammond's failure to start the bike, although Tornado was in the overall lead from the start. The car and bike interchanged places while making their respective re-fuelling stops at filling stationFilling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
s.
May was hampered by the Jaguar's limited fuel range and an unreliable petrol gauge which caused him to make frequent filling station stops out of fear of running out of fuel. Hammond had attempted to prolong his fuel stops to the very last possible moment by employing the Vincent's reserve fuel tank. This backfired after his fuel stop 20 miles (32.2 km) south of Doncaster, as Hammond was forced to pull over in the rain after breaking down. Having failed to close the reserve tank tap, sludge from the fuel tank had entered the fuel lines and blocked the left hand carburettor.
The Jaguar finally took the overall lead from Tornado as she was stationary in Tyne Yard
Tyne Yard
Tyne Yard is a railway yard in Gateshead, England, on the East Coast Main Line, operated by DB Schenker Rail Ltd. The yard is the major freight yard of the region, with the majority of rail freight movements in Tyne and Wear from around the UK passing through the yard.The yard is about south of...
taking on coal and water. Having repaired the carburettor, Hammond resumed the race but was way behind, near Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
by the time Clarkson and May were approaching Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. As Tornado departed Tweedmouth
Tweedmouth
Tweedmouth may refer to*The River Tweed*Berwick-upon-Tweed*Baron Tweedmouth...
sidings following her final water stop, May has a small lead, being about 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Berwick.
Finish
Tornado arrived 1 minute ahead of schedule at Waverley at 3.26pm, having taken a total of 8 hours exactly. On arrival Jeremy Clarkson and crew ran the short distance to the Balmoral Hotel. However, he arrived to find that James May was already there, waiting for him with a pintBeer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
. May said in his Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
column after the race was broadcast that he had arrived "no more than 10 minutes" before the train.
The winner of the race was kept under wraps by the BBC. It was reported prior to the programme however that Richard Hammond had not won, but had in fact come last, with his bike having broken down somewhere en-route.
While Clarkson and May awaited Hammond, enjoying a beer in the hotel, they were spotted by a wedding party arriving, after the couple had been married at a nearby church. Despite Clarkson's filthy attire, both were invited to pose for wedding photos with the bride in her traditional white wedding dress
Wedding dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.- Western culture :...
and the groom in a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
, on the steps of the hotel, with a number of onlookers gathering for the scene, the pictures of which made national headlines. The bride had initially thought Jeremy was a traditional lucky chimney sweep
Chimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During...
. Clarkson was covered in an unusually heavy amount of soot
Soot
Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...
due to the fact that, in addition to being exposed as normal during his stint as fireman shovelling coal, the presence of overhead wires and electrical equipment in the locomotive cab prevented use of damping hoses.
Jeremy Clarkson and Tornado
The decision of Jeremy Clarkson to choose to take the train for the race surprised many people, who expected him to take the Jaguar. Known for his loathing of trains and public transport, the BBC described his decision to choose Tornado as an "almost unprecedented move".While known as a petrol head, Clarkson is also a big fan of British engineering, and the Tornado project was an award-winning example of this (albeit incorporating a German-designed and -built firetube boiler). In the month following the race the A1 Trust received two engineering awards: the Sir Henry Royce
Henry Royce
Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet, OBE was a pioneering car manufacturer, who with Charles Stewart Rolls founded the Rolls-Royce company.-Early life:...
Foundation Memorial Award, which honours achievement and excellence in engineering, formerly awarded to the likes of Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles based at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex, England. It is the current producer of Rolls-Royce branded automobiles, whose historical production dates back to 1904. The factory is located across from the historic Goodwood Circuit...
, Thrust cars
ThrustSSC
ThrustSSC, also spelt Thrust SSC by secondary sources, is a British jet-propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss....
and the Williams-Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
racing team; and the IMechE Engineering Heritage Award, setup in 1984 to celebrate unique excellence in Mechanical Engineering.
Clarkson was also believed to be a "secret gricer" by Steam Railway magazine, and his Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
birthplace was also said to be influential in his agreeing to the race in the first place, with the original LNER Peppercorn A1 Class locomotives having been designed in Doncaster, and the Class having been built in the Doncaster
Doncaster Works
Doncaster railway works is in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.Always referred to as "the Plant", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough...
and Darlington locomotive works
Darlington Works
Darlington railway works, known in the town as North Road Shops, was built in 1863 by the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the town of Darlington in the north east of England.-NER History:The first new locomotive was built at the works in 1864...
. His past interest in railways has included a review of No. 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
in I Know You Got Soul, and advocacy for the railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
in 100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons
100 Greatest Britons was broadcast in 2002 by the BBC. The programme was the result of a vote conducted to determine whom the United Kingdom public considers the greatest British people in history. The series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further...
.
Clarkson was on the footplate
Footplate
The footplate of a steam locomotive is a large metal plate that rests on top of the frames and is normally covered with wooden floorboards. It is usually the full width of the locomotive and extends from the front of the cab to the rear of cab or coal bunker just above the buffer beam. The...
throughout the journey, acting as the fireman for periods. After the race, he was understood to have been impressed with Tornado.
James May and Tornado
In a newspaper column, a few days after the race, James May said the race was close and that he won the race in the Jaguar by only 10 minutes.May followed in Clarkson's footsteps, in May 2010, by also taking a footplate journey with Tornado on the mainline. In Top Gear Magazine he started a column on non- motor vehicles, one of which was about Tornado. He expressed his fondness of how steam locomotives worked and praised the work of the A1 Trust. He also included a detailed chapter on how to drive the locomotive in his book, How To Land An A330 Airbus and Other Vital Skills For The Modern Man.
May has an interest in railways. For his programme James May's Top Toys he took a footplate ride on 34016 Bodmin on the Mid Hants Railway in Hampshire and, at the climax of the programme, identified trainsets as his favourite childhood toy. In a later programme, The Great Train Race he stated that, of all his childhood toys, his model trains were closest to his heart. This programme was his second attempt to re-lay the 10 miles (16.1 km) of line from to using OO gauge
OO gauge
OO gauge or OO scale model railways are the most popular standard-gauge model railway tracks in the U.K. This track gauge is one of several 4mm-scale standards used, but it is the only one to be served by the major manufacturers...
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...
track and run the first train between the two towns for more than 25 years.
Filming and broadcast
| Tornado on the Race to the North, in Newcastle Central Station Newcastle Central station Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building... entering (top image), and leaving (bottom image). The first steam train to pass through Newcastle without officially stopping, since 1968. |
The Top Gear race took place on 25 April 2009. Details of the shoot were kept secret beforehand by the BBC, due to safety fears over spectators at stations, line-side and water stops or paparazzi
Paparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
photographers attempting to follow the car or bike on the A1.
Non-stop London to Edinburgh train runs had previously featured in the British Transport Films
British Transport Films
British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues , and "industrial films" promoting the progress of Britain's railway...
(BTF) production Elizabethan Express
Elizabethan Express
Elizabethan Express is a 1954 British Transport Film that follows The Elizabethan, a non-stop British Railways service from London to Edinburgh along the East Coast Main Line...
filmed in the summer of 1953, hauled by the LNER A4 Class No. 60017 Silver Fox, and the BBC's own film of the 1968 anniversary run. For the 2009 film Tornado was fitted with multiple miniature camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s around the locomotive and inside the cab, and using one front-mounted camera attached to the red buffer beam
Buffer (rail transport)
A buffer is a part of the buffers-and-chain coupling system used on the railway systems of many countries, among them most of those in Europe, for attaching railway vehicles to one another....
, raising the possibility of any footage gained being used to produce a modern day version of the famous 1952 BTF
British Transport Films
British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues , and "industrial films" promoting the progress of Britain's railway...
film London to Brighton in Four Minutes, a four minute long speeded up view of the railway route from London to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
as viewed from the front of the Brighton Belle
Brighton Belle
The Brighton Belle was a named train which ran on the Southern Railway from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. The first electric all-Pullman service in the world, it ran from 29 June 1934 till 30 April 1972.-History:...
.
Much of Tornado's journey was also filmed from one of Flying TV's helicopters, registered
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
G-PIXX, piloted by Capt. Kim Campion and filmed by cameraman Matt Wyer. Flying TV is owned and managed by DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Mike Smith
Mike Smith (television presenter)
Mike Smith is a British television, radio presenter, racing driver, pilot, and businessman.-Radio career:...
.
The race was to be the main feature of the first episode of the 13th series of the current Top Gear format, broadcast in the 8pm slot on BBC 2 on Sunday 21 June 2009. According to the BBC, the race was to be one of Top Gear's "most incredible and most epic races to date". Despite the prior secrecy over the race, the event made national media attention after James May and a soot blackened Jeremy Clarkson were photographed outside the Balmoral Hotel
Balmoral Hotel
The Balmoral is a luxury five-star hotel and landmark in Edinburgh, Scotland, known as the North British Hotel until the late 1980s. It is located in the heart of the city at the east end of Princes Street, the main shopping street beneath the Edinburgh Castle rock, and the southern edge of the New...
, waiting for Richard Hammond to arrive.
Following the date of filming the race in April, Tornado continued her national tour, with further main line charters, as well as visits to the heritage railways of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line...
and West Somerset Railway
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway is a railway line that originally linked and in Somerset, England.It opened in 1862 and was extended from Watchet to by the Minehead Railway in 1874. Although just a single track, improvements were needed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the...
, before the broadcast date of the Top Gear race.
On the date the race was to be broadcast in June, on Sunday 21 June (Father's Day
Father's Day
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...
), Tornado was due to undertake two tours in the south of England. These would be a daytime circular tour out of London Waterloo station through and down to on the south coast in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, before returning through Guildford
Guildford (Surrey) railway station
Guildford railway station is an important railway junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line serving the town of Guildford in Surrey, England. It is 30.3 miles from London Waterloo....
back to Waterloo. In the evening, Tornado would haul another circular tour, this time out of London Victoria station around Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, tackling Martin Mill bank and passing the White Cliffs of Dover
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
.
Authenticity
For various reasons, it was not possible to run a historically accurate recreation of how the race would have gone in the 1950s. Instead, according to Graeme Bunker, the race was "done just for fun and entertainment". A major restriction was Tornado's maximum speed limit of 75 miles per hour (33.5 m/s), set as a condition of its current main line certification (although the A1 Trust was planning to have Tornado certified to a higher speed over time). The 'Flyers' of the 1950s would have gone on to speeds of 90 miles per hour (40.2 m/s) and beyond. A further difficulty was due to water troughsTrack pan
A track pan or water trough is a device to enable a steam railway locomotive to replenish its water supply while in motion...
having been removed from the rail network, meaning it was not possible to achieve the post war steam timings of 6 and a half hours. According to Steam Railway magazine, if Tornado had been able to use troughs, the train would have won the race easily. On the plus side for the car and bike, they had the speed advantage of not having to travel through towns and villages exactly as the old Great North Road would have, but instead benefitted from the use of modern bypasses
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
, and the faster A1(M) sections of the A1, where it has been upgraded to motorway standards. However, speed restrictions outside of built up areas were only introduced in Britain in 1965. So if this had been in 1949 neither the car or motorbike would have been subject to any speed restrictions for most of the journey.
Funding
The rail portion of the race was achieved with no financial cost to the licence payerTelevision licensing in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions is required to purchase a television licence every year. As of 2010, this costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white. The licence is required to receive any live...
, due to fare paying passengers being on the tour, and through savings achieved by the railway companies providing their services at cost. The helicopter was provided by the BBC. More than 100 passengers were on the train, paying a minimum fare of £250 a head, or about $400, with dining service throughout.
Steam Dreams (railtour promoter), Riviera Trains (rolling stock provider), Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
(network access), DB Schenker
DB Schenker
DB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
(depots and drivers), National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, running high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland, as part of the East Coast passenger franchise...
(ticketing, control) all contributed their services to the train at cost price, with all profits remaining going to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is a Darlington, England based charitable trust formed in 1990 for the primary purpose of completing the next stage of the locomotive heritage movement, the building a new steam locomotive. This project became the construction of 60163 Tornado, carried out by...
to pay off the remaining debts from building Tornado.
The Railway Touring Company also contributed by cancelling a rail tour to Newcastle, freeing up the departure slot from King's Cross for Tornado.
May 2009 Coronation railtour
On 16 May 2009 Tornado participated in a second completion of the London to Edinburgh run, this time a publicly available train. This run produced the first 'up' directionRailroad directions
Railroad directions are used to describe train directions on railroad systems. The terms used may be derived from such sources as compass directions, altitude directions, or other directions...
(Edinburgh to London) version of the steam journey. Originally planned as a multi-locomotive tour, with Tornado hauling a leg along with all three operational LNER A4 class 'Streaks', No. 60007 LNER Sir Nigel Gresley
LNER Class A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
London and North Eastern Railway A4 Class number 4498 , 7 and 60007 , namedSir Nigel Gresley is a preserved British steam locomotive.-Liveries:...
, No. 60019 Bittern
LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern
4464 Bittern is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 steam locomotive. Built for the LNER in 1937 at Doncaster Works as works number 1866, it was originally numbered 4464. It was renumbered 19 on 16 August 1946 under the LNER 1946 renumbering scheme and after nationalisation in 1948 BR added...
and No. 60009 Union of South Africa
LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa
60009 Union of South Africa is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built in Doncaster in 1937. Originally named Osprey, it is one of six surviving Gresley A4s and is presently undergoing an extensive overhaul.-Names:...
, after 60019 became unavailable, Tornado was called on to replace her for the King's Cross to York leg on 16 May, as well as her original leg of bringing the tour back into London on 18 May, with an intermediate tour in Scotland occurring on the 17th.