‘Plandampf’ UK! Tornado to run S&C service trains

Steam Railway and RAIL are supporting historic Appleby trips.

TORNADO WILL replace DMUs on timetabled trains over the Settle-Carlisle in February. Train operator Northern has dropped its normal schedule on an out-andback diesel diagram between Skipton and Appleby, replacing it with slower timings in order to accommodate a locomotivehauled diagram. Running on February 14, the Peppercorn-designed ‘Pacific’ will also haul a pair of ‘extras’ - a morning Appleby-Skipton working, and an evening run in the opposite direction. The ‘A1’ will haul Mk 2 coaches with central door locking - a mandatory requirement for service trains. Tickets bought in advance, or from National Rail ticket offices, will be permissible for travel. England’s first timetabled ordinary main line passenger steam trains for nearly 50 years are being promoted under the banner ‘I LOVE S&C’ - the inaugural train coinciding with Valentine’s Day. They are the result of an alliance between the modern and preservation industries, formed to help revive the economic fortunes of the beleaguered S&C, as well as the towns and villages that it serves. The route, which opened in 1875, was severed by a major landslip at Eden Brows last February. The partnership comprises Northern, Network Rail, DB Cargo, the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and Friends of the S&C, together with Steam Railway and RAIL from the Bauer Media magazine portfolio, who came up with the proposal two years ago. “There’s a real sense of history about putting steam services back on the S&C after nearly half a century, and I’m delighted we’re able to do it,” Steam Railway editor Nick Brodrick said. “When Tornado heads out in February, these will be among the most ‘special’ trains we’ve ever done precisely because they’re ‘normal!’” The blueprint for using steam in place of diesel or electric motive power on daily services was successfully pioneered by German rail enthusiasts in the early 1990s, and led to the colloquial term ‘Plandampf’, which translates as ‘timetabled steam’. ❚❚Keep up to date with the story on www.steamrailway. co.uk and on Facebook. For more on this story, turn to pages 36 and 40. Tornado at Appleby with a charter train on October 4 2009. It will return next month, but in charge of daily timetabled steam. PHIL METCALFE