[9] In January 1995, officers of the Royal Air Force presented the Tornado nameplates to the trust at Tyseley Locomotive Works at a frame laying ceremony.

[12] On 19 February 2009, Tornado was officially named by the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall and Dorothy Mather, Peppercorn's widow, at York railway station.

[5][29] Ironically, in 2003, it was decided to make Tornado oil-fired for cost and operational reasons, following earlier dual-fuelled coal-and-oil-fired proposals in 1998, when boiler design commenced.

This caused an unforeseen problem in 2003 since the modifications made to the tender in the original fitting of roller bearings as an experiment to some Peppercorn A1s had not been properly drawn for the Cartazzi axle of the trailing wheels.

[36] The fitting was not without incident though, as the extra weight caused some compaction of the trackbed, and assistance was required to move the locomotive back into the works, by a combination of being winched, towed by a forklift truck and pushed with Land Rovers.

[9][30] The redundant tender of LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman was acquired, although later returned unused, allowing Tornado to remain a completely originally-manufactured locomotive.

[citation needed] By 2002, it was agreed that a flush sided (all welded) boiler and tender was appropriate for a Darlington-built Peppercorn A1, making construction and maintenance easier.

[20] From its construction until final testing was completed, Tornado sported a grey coloured undercoat as a precaution in case the boiler cladding had to be removed.

[41][34][42] While in this undercoat, Tornado wore the web address of the A1 Trust on the side of the tender and the mark RA9 on the locomotive cab, denoting its route availability.

[16] The boiler safety valves were tested on LNER Class A4 60009 Union of South Africa at the Severn Valley Railway before their delivery to Meiningen for fitting to Tornado.

[46] From Darlington Works, Tornado was moved by road on two articulated lorries to the Great Central Railway on 19 August, where it performed mileage accumulation and testing before hauling its first passenger trains.

[47][46] Testing of the On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR), Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS), Automatic Warning System (AWS), and air brakes was also done at the GCR, and are standard for all steam locomotives requiring certification for main line running, with speed and regulator positions tracked by the onboard recording equipment stored under the driver's seat.

[41][33][34] On 4 October, Tornado took part in the 125th anniversary of the Boys' Brigade, wearing a special headboard and hauled the GCR's preserved Travelling Post Office train.

[55][56] As a new build locomotive, Tornado's certification was more complex in comparison to a restored one and required liaison with Network Rail, HMRI, and a vehicle acceptance body, with the origin of all construction materials needing to be documented and every aspect of the manufacture recorded.

[17] Following manufacture, a technical file and Notified Body certificate was obtained on completion of a manufacturing and maintenance procedures review which was managed by DeltaRail Group Ltd.[18] Tornado was also required to pass the 2006 European Interoperability of the conventional rail system directive, achieved through compliance with the National Notified Technical Rules (formerly the Railway Group Standards), though it was exempt from portions of the regulations, as are many mainline steam locomotives, such as from the need for a yellow warning panel or crumple zones.

This was completed in two stages, approval under the Railway and Other Transport Systems regulations, for use on the GCR and other preserved lines, and then as an "interoperable" locomotive for use on the mainline network.

[46] Completion of a test run between York and Leeds on 28 January 2009 signalled the gaining of certification to haul passengers on the Network Rail main line.

[61] The same journey was planned for 1 February, but on advice from the British Transport Police and Network Rail, the second trip ran from Doncaster to Durham with Tornado hauling only part of the return leg.

[68][69] Blue Peter was repainted in LNER Apple Green livery for display alongside Tornado, and their meeting re-created a scene not witnessed for nearly 50 years.

Tornado was to haul a Cathedrals Express lunchtime special, but some booked passengers were unable to get there due to the conditions, leaving spare seats.

This lasted until its withdrawal for winter maintenance in late 2012, during which it was repainted in BR Express Passenger Blue, the second livery carried by the original class.

[59] In the early hours of 12 April 2017, Tornado achieved 100 mph (160 km/h) during a test run on the East Coast Main Line, becoming the first steam locomotive to reach the speed on the British mainline since 1968.

[79] In 2017, Tornado was used by Northern Rail on scheduled public timetabled services between Appleby and Skipton prior to the reopening of the Settle–Carlisle line, which had been closed for a year because of a landslip.

[80] On 14 April 2018, while running at 90 mph (140 km/h) south of Peterborough on The Ebor Flyer from London King's Cross to York, the locomotive's inside motion failed.

In November 2021, Tornado was withdrawn from mainline service after a number of tender wheel flats caused by slippage from falling leaves were detected.

[1] The trust has used Deeds of Covenant since the start of the project in 1990,[14] marketed under the slogan "Build a main line loco for the price of a pint of beer a week!

[20] In October 1999 a £250,000 appeal was launched to fund the boiler, whose absence was noticeable with Tornado then comprising a wheeled frame with completed cab and smokebox.

[31] As Tornado began to look like a locomotive with the mating of the frame with the wheelset in the autumn of 2000, fundraising progress increased, breaking previous records by recruiting 100 new covenantors in two months.

[89] In 1997, Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), the then operator on the East Coast Main Line, became a sponsor, and decorated Darlington station for the event, as well as offering free travel for trust workers.

[citation needed] For their 2013/2014 range, Bachmann released an Express Passenger Blue model of Tornado which is a standard repaint and slightly modified Peppercorn A1.