STEAM'S NEW DAWN - ROBIN JONES - HALSGROVE

Britain invented the steam locomotive and taught
the rest of the world how to build them. Then we
discovered the skills all over again!
History records that the last steam locomotive
built for British Railways was Evening Star in 1960.The
last steam locomotive built in Britain for commercial as
opposed to tourist purposes was a small narrow gauge
tank engine in Leeds in 1971. However, that was not
the end of the story. Since volunteers took over the
running of the Talyllyn Railway in 1951, many miracles
have been worked by enthusiasts in the heritage railway
sector - not least of all the building of new steam
locomotives.With the demise of the steam age and
the advent of diesel and electric traction,many classic
steam locomotive types were rendered extinct by the
scrapman before preservationists had the chance to
save them.That left many gaping holes in Britain's fleet
of preserved steam engines - many of which are now
being filled.
In 2009, an all-new LNER A1 Pacific, No. 60163
Tornado,was launched on the main line - the culmination
of an 18-year project started by a handful of enthusiasts
who came up with the idea during a
conversation about the good old days. Tornado
captured the nation's imagination, generating headlines
on radio andTV and drawing crowds wherever it went
- and even hauled the RoyalTrain after being officially
named by Prince Charles. The biggest new-build
project to date, it was by no means the first - and
certainly will not be the last. Not only are new steam
locomotives being built by enthusiasts to replace those
once thought to have gone forever, but there is also a
thriving steam-building industry producing modernday
steam locomotives for narrow gauge, miniature
and tourist lines.