A MODERN-day steam train thrilled enthusiasts when it hauled an excursion through Wellington on Sunday (May 25).

Locomotive No 60163 Tornado pulled day trippers for the Railway Touring Company (RTC) from Bristol to Par, in Cornwall, and back again.

It can be seen again hauling RTC’s Royal Duchy service on Sundays July 27 and August 31.

Tornado was the first main line steam locomotive built in the UK since 1961 and was completed after 18 years in 2008, built from scratch at a cost of £3 million for the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust by a dedicated team of volunteers.

Constructed at the trust’s Darlington Locomotive Works, the Peppercorn class A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado has been fitted with extra water capacity and the latest railway safety electronics, including European Train Control System (ETCS) technology, making it equipped for today’s mainline railway.

In 2017, secret night time tests saw Tornado become the first steam locomotive to reach 100 mph since the 1960s, a preservation era record.

The engine has also become a television and movie star, appearing in the film Paddington 2, and BBC’s Top Gear ‘Race to the North’ episode.

Sunday’s outing through Wellington was Tornado’s return from a major overhaul which had prevented it running for several years.

Steam enthusiasts were able to photograph the locomotive in its new BR green livery as it added to the more than 130,000 miles it has covered on the main Network Rail line and also heritage railways across the country.

Tornado was named in honour of the crews who flew RAF Tornado jets during the first Gulf War in 1990-91 when the project to build the locomotive was launched.

RTC also offers excursions on a dozen different steam trains, including the iconic Flying Scotsman, probably the world’s most famous locomotive.