The thing is, Jeremy is probably just about old enough to have seen the last days of steam in the late 60’s. He was probably very young, but as someone from Doncaster he would have seen a couple on the mainline. But probably by the time he was old enough to remember the mainline had switch to Diesels.
@@lukegauci1159 I dont thing you understand my comment. Jeremy said in the video that his grandad build a house next to a railway line and when his house was finished the line closed. this must have been the branch-line that breaks off at rosssington and goes to conisbrough
He wrote once in one of his books that he still has a handful of old pennies that are crushed flat copper discs from when as a boy he placed them on the line to get run over by the flying scotsman (at the time the only steam engine allowed to run on the national network)
Sooner be on the footplate of a magnificent steam loco than in a Bugatti anyday, or any other fast car for that matter. No comparison, and doing that speed with several hundred tons of train behind it as well, marvellous machine. The footplate crews deserve the utmost respect for their skill in making that fine machine perform to its best.
Even Clarkson knows that steam trains are the one example of public transport being comfortable and interesting. It’s always a nice sight to see one steaming by, or even sat in a museum.
My dad was a fireman out of Canton sheds in Cardiff fuelling the Castles going up to London. He passed away in 2007 and I never had any interest in his job.... fast forward 13 years and I’ve watched every steam train video on RU-vid and probably cried every time I’ve watched the Tornado video where they hit the ton.... watching that footplate I realised what my dad did and how hard that man worked.
Hello Richard, I was a Shunter at Stoke Gifford, now “ Bristol Parkway “ and more than likely your Father past by on his trips to Paddington, I ended up at Penzance until 1984.
My grandad was on the footplate on the LNER. All the footplate crews including your dad deserve respect for being able to control such a big beast of a machine at high speeds, in all weathers, and on all different routes. Driving a car is no comparison at all to the real skills needed to drive a steam loco. I wonder if Clarkson realised that? If he didn't he's deluded.
1:07 the rest of it apparently was bodged! I've been on Tornado a few times she never let me down or broke down I love her. secretly think Jeremy Clarkson has a soft spot for her.
I think you'd be right on that, he originaly thought he'd be the one driving the engine but got a bit bummed when he found out he was going to be shovelling coal, however after about 5 minutes after setting off he had a massive smile from ear to ear
I’m sorry mate, but it is very rare that you will find a steam engine on the mainline. If you waited at a station, you would have to wait 1 week - 1 month to see one.
There is just something so romantic about steam locomotives. Even though the crew gets mucked up, the experience is just too golden to get bogged down. Along with the music in the video it’s absolutely magical
Also, some of the American locomotives burned too much coal to hand shovel them. The Union Pacific Big Boys couldn't be hand fed because they burned 11lbs a second.
The fact that Jeremy Clarkson, a man who is infamous for loathing public transports and railways, willingly chose to take Tornado over the Jaguar shouldn't really be surprising. Clarkson loves engineering feats like Tornado and Flying Scotsman, and apparently he was the one who suggested that Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Britain's greatest civil engineer, be added to the list of 100 Greatest Britons, and Brunel ended up at #2 (behind Winston Churchill)
@@haxorouse3265 same, or go one step further and fire up Flying Scotsman. I know the originally wanted to use Scotsman, but because she went into restoration at that time, the BBC and Top Gear chose to use Tornado instead
What I would give to have been on the footplate. If you want a sense of speed, standing on a semi-open footplate at 80 mph will give you more than a Bugatti does at 120 mph any day.
I was surprised to read that in order to comply with ECML digital signalling requirements, Tornado has to regularly run at 90mph - with in cab signalling - on certain sections of track in the north. The video where they did the ton to test compliance was incredible.
I know this was a year ago but you might still have notifs on who knows. This loco is Tornado. It was crowdfunded and built slowly between 1994 & 2008 as a tribute to the 49 original LNER Peppercorn Class A1 locomotives, of which none survive. Tornado is number 50.
@IchiCrack Would it be at all alright if I used some of the clips in this video for a fanfic trailer that I am intending to make for a fanfic that I have recently written for the top gear episode that this represents?
