The new-build British mainline steam locomotive completed in 2008 was Tornado.
LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado was constructed by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust as the 50th member of the class. The original 49 Peppercorn A1 locomotives were built for express passenger work after the Second World War, but all had been scrapped by 1966. Tornado revived the design using modern manufacturing, materials and safety requirements.
Construction began in 1994 at Darlington Works after the project was launched in 1990. Tornado first moved under steam in July 2008 and entered service on heritage railways later that year. It became the first new steam locomotive built for Britain’s main line since Evening Star in 1960.
Tornado is a 4-6-2 Pacific, not a Typhoon, Tempest or Hurricane. Its painted number is 60163, while it carries the TOPS designation 98863 for main-line operations. It received main-line certification in January 2009 and subsequently hauled both heritage and main-line passenger trains.