Filed under the ‘Only in Britain’ Banner. According to the Times Online recently, a brand new steam engine has had it’s final tests and is ready to roll on Britain’s mainline rails.
What’s odd about this is that they simply don’t make steam trains anymore. Much to the annoyance of Train Anoraks everywhere. So, a group of enthusiasts took it upon themselves to build their own Peppercorn Class A1 Steam Engine. From Scratch. From the original plans.
For £3 Million.
It took 18 years, but a dedicated band of enthusiasts successfully built this magnificent steam engine from scratch and it’s now ready to serve Britain’s rails for heritage tours and for special hire.
Believe it or not, I actually saw a documentary that was made over the 18 years tracking the construction of this beautiful machine. Their dedication was simply amazing. It’s also very British, such dedication to something seemingly pointless to outside eyes.
I think it’s brilliant and one of the best things about Britain. I hope one day I can take a ride on the Tornado.
You can read all about the Peppercorn A1 Project here:
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
Ooh, thanks for this. My little one is obsessed with steam engines (particularly James and Gordon). He will love to see this.