TORNADO TO BE RENAMED TYPHOON
New-build ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado will assume a new identity in April next year, when it becomes No. 60164 Typhoon. When the project to build the Peppercorn ‘A1’ was instigated in 1990, the name Tornado was chosen in honour of the Royal Air Force fighter jets then in service during the First Gulf War. However, with the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust keen to maintain its strong links with the RAF, which celebrates its 100th anniversary on April 1, and with the RAF’s Tornado jets being withdrawn from service in March 2019, it has been decided to rename and renumber No. 60163 Tornado to No. 60164 Typhoon to commemorate the newer RAF jets, which entered service in 2007. A1SLT Trustee Mark Allatt said: “Now that Tornado is approaching ten years since completion, the trust has decided to give the locomotive a new name, new number and new look. “From 2019, it will be renamed and renumbered to No. 60164 Typhoon, and will be repainted in the popular British Railways express passenger blue livery carried in 2012-14. This change is a reflection of our desire to maintain an ongoing link with the RAF.” As part of the trust’s initiative to forge stronger links with countries flying Typhoon aircraft, it is planning to take Typhoon on an overseas tour, which will include Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Graeme Bunker, A1SLT operations director, said: “It’s in the early stages of planning but the first part of the tour will start in Aprilschertz, Germany.”