Steam train Tornado in whirlwind rescue to help Chester passengers back on track

Just 24 hours before the Northern Belle was due to depart from Chester, historic steam locomotive 'Princess Elizabeth' suffered a catastrophic boiler problem.

A crack on the 'throat plate' was leaking steam and made it impossible for the 88-year-old crimson-painted engine to move.

Crimson-painted locomotive Princess Elizabeth hauls the Northern Belle’s Pullman carriages over the Settle-Carlisle line. Picture: Channel 5.

Yorkshire businessman David Pitts, who bought the train from the Orient Express group, was faced with the heartbreak decision of cancelling the sell-out champagne trip.

But at the last minute he managed to arrange a replacement engine in 'Tornado', the only steam locomotive built in Britain for more than 50 years.

The green A1 Class engine, which ran for the first time in 2008, immediately headed down from Scotland.

Then it waited at Carnforth to be connected to the Northern Belle, which had been hauled by a vintage diesel loco from Chester.

Mr Pitts said: “Never in my life have I been so glad to see a Tornado!

“It’s a magnificent loco and the only steam engine to have reached 100mph in Britain during the last 50 years.

“So I was really chuffed to get it as a replacement.

“We did offer passengers the option of changing their booking if they were disappointed that Lizzie wasn’t running.

“But nobody did and my staff say the trip ran like clockwork.

“We hope Lizzie, which used to pull crack expresses between London and Scotland and once hauled the Queen’s Royal Train, will be back on track soon.”

The Northern Belle, with its 1930s-style Pullman carriages, will return to Chester for a slap-up lunch trip on August 20, then to Scarborough in September, Winchester in November and a Christmas Lunch Special in December.

For details, see www.northernbelle.co.uk or phone 01270 899681.