A major commuter road in Darlington, County Durham, has been named after A1 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’, the iconic steam locomotive which was built in Darlington.
The Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor will now be known as Tornado Way. This is after it had almost 50% of the votes in a social media poll.
The new name was unveiled yesterday (Thursday 8th February) by Paul Bruce and Graeme Bunker-James from The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. Also in attendance was Councillor Nick Wallis, Darlington Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Local Environment.
Tornado was made famous for being the first mainline steam locomotive to built in Britain for more than 50 years. Construction started in 1994 and took 14 years to complete the locomotive. It ran for the first time in 2008. It has seen fame on the big screen after featuring in Paddington 2: The Movie and BBCs Top Gear.
Tornado Way first opened in 2007 to link the A66 with Darlington town centre and providing a reprieve for the congested Haughton Road.
What did the officials say?
Councillor Wallis said: “Darlington is rightly proud to be the birthplace of Tornado, the first new mainline steam locomotive to be built in the UK for more than 50 years. We are delighted to name this road in its honour and excited about what the future may hold. Tornado Way has already unlocked a huge amount of positive development on the eastern side of Darlington, creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of new homes, and there is still more to come.”
Graeme Bunker-James, Operations Director at The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, added: “This just shows how much the history of railway means to the people of Darlington. We’re delighted that No. 60163 Tornado has been invited to be as much a part of the town’s future as its past.”
- Visit the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust website
For more information
