A world-famous steam train featured in Top Gear and Paddington 2 will be making excursions through Bristol this year. Tornado will be tearing through the city collecting passengers from Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway for two trips, offering an experience of the 'Golden Age of travel'.
This news comes after it was announced that Flying Scotsman will be pulling up into Bristol Temple Meads for the first time in many years. The last time the historic train passed through the city was in 2018 on its way from Exeter - and it will be pulling up on Sunday (April 30).
The No. 60163 locomotive was launched just 15 years ago and is the first mainline steam train built in the UK since 1960. Since 2008, the locomotive has made history by running over 100,000 miles, hauling royal trains and reaching 100mph - the only steam train to have reached that speed in over 50 years.
Read more: Flying Scotsman will be in Bristol this weekend for special centenary trip
Tornado is also recognisable from Top Gear special ‘Race to the North’ when Jeremy Clarkson took to the shovel, and from Paddington 2, aiding the Brown family’s rescue of everyone’s favourite bear. This year, the locomotive will be offering train journeys south to Devon and along the picturesque Welsh Marches route to Shropshire passing through Bristol's railway stations.
Passengers are immediately transported back to yesteryear as soon as they step inside the vintage MK1 carriages, which have been recently refurbished to fit the style of a classic steam train. Tourist Class, First Class and Premier Dining tickets are available, the latter of which includes a breakfast on the outward journey and a four-course supper on the return route.
The adventure begins the second you arrive on the platform and see Tornado steaming at the front of the train. On board, passengers are promised old world luxury and culinary delights, as some of the best views of the English coast and countryside slip passed the window.
On Thursday, September 28, ‘The South Devon Express’ will pause for passengers at Bristol Parkway before heading out of Temple Meads for a nostalgic trip to the English Riviera. It follows Brunel’s Great Western Railway and takes on the iconic sea wall on its way to Kingswear. It’s a short ferry trip to Dartmouth - with the fare included in the ticket - with plenty of time to explore the picture postcard harbour before the return journey.
Alternatively, ‘The Welsh Marches Express’ leaves Bristol Temple Meads on Sunday, October 1 and passes through the rolling countryside of the Welsh-English border en route to Ludlow and Shrewsbury. Passengers can choose which of these medieval market towns they wish to explore, both offering an abundance of historic buildings, a wide variety of shops and riverside views. Fares start from £115 for a return journey.
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