Steam loco in historic crossing

Tornado was built by enthusiasts at the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust in Darlington

The first mainline steam locomotive to have been built in Britain for almost 50 years has crossed the historic Settle-Carlisle line.

Tornado, a £3m Peppercorn class A1 Pacific, was built by enthusiasts in Darlington over a period of 18 years.

It set off from Doncaster on Saturday morning, pulling passenger train The Waverley.

The service stopped at York and Leeds en-route to Settle, before crossing the Ribblehead viaduct.

Richard Haley, 43, and his train-loving dad Gordon, 70, both from Halifax, said it was wonderful to see the Tornado in action.

'Bit of nostalgia'

Mr Haley, who received tickets for the journey from his son as a gift for his 70th birthday, said: "It's great that they've built it. Even if it did take £3m to do it. It's just a bit of nostalgia."

Adrian Wood, 57, who boarded Tornado at York, said: "There's more and more things like this happening, and I think it's really good. It's a really different experience."

Tornado was built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, and was based on the original designs of Arthur Peppercorn - the last chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway.

It embarked on its maiden mainline passenger journey, from York to Newcastle, on 31 January this year.

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