Events & Entertainment, Swanage | Posted on September 8th, 2026 | return to news

Steam gala to feature 18-year £3 million new build Triumph ‘Tornado’

Feel the need for steam at the Swanage annual locomotive celebration.

Against the odds, the technical triumph that is ‘Tornado’ will appear in a whirlwind of excitement when the iconic locomotive, completed just 18 years ago after being built from scratch by dedicated volunteers, stars in the Swanage Railway’s Autumn Steam Gala.

The show will feature five engines dating from 1893 to 2008 and takes place from Friday to Sunday, 11 to 13 September. Some trains will run along the entire nine miles of the heritage line – from Swanage to Corfe Castle and four miles beyond Norden to the River Frome within sight of Wareham.

Beloved children’s railway author Christopher Awdry will be signing copies of his new book – ‘The Canadian Wonderland Tour 1980’ diary of George and Wilbert Awdry – at Harman’s Cross station on the Saturday between 10.30am and 2.30pm.

Based at the Darlington locomotive works between 1994 and 2008 – and bringing new steam to the national railway network – the 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Peppercorn class A1 Pacific No. 60163 was the first main line steam locomotive to be built in the United Kingdom since the 9F ‘Evening Star’ at the Swindon Works of British Railways during 1960.

‘Tornado’ is named after the fast fighter jets of the Royal Air Force and is a tribute to the brave aircrews who flew in the Gulf War of 1990 and 1991 when the ambitious project to build a new Peppercorn class A1 steam locomotive was launched by an intrepid band of dedicated enthusiasts and volunteers.