'Tornado' Chases 'Tangmere' Over Shap! 'The Shap Mountaineer' and 'The CME' - 28/03/2026

The Bulleid Pacifics were the Southern Railway’s primary express locomotives. Designed late in the company’s history, they were infamously classified as mixed traffic engines to justify their construction during World War Two. However, their main purpose as passenger machines always prevailed, leading them to become one of the railway’s most flexible and free-steaming types of locomotive. Likewise, the latter days of the LNER saw Arthur Peppercorn introduce his A1 Pacific, a reliable racehorse that could regularly handle fifteen-coach trains over hundreds of miles a day. Railwaymen will often argue which is best, so, how about we put them to the test? On Saturday 28 March, 34067 ‘Tangmere’ and 60163 ‘Tornado’ both headed railtours up the West Coast Mainline. The ‘Spamcan’ was in charge of one of the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ services whilst the A1 helmed ‘The Shap Mountaineer’ for Vintage Trains. Both tours would ascend the notorious Shap bank northbound to Carlisle on the outward legs of their respective journeys. Interestingly, the railtours were scheduled to climb the gradient within seven minutes of each other. Now owned by West Coast Railways, ‘Tangmere’ is a regular feature over the fearsome fell. ‘Tornado’ was also making her first mainline run in several months and her first journey along West Coast turf since the A1 Trust’s infamous business split with David Smith last summer. I decided to head to Shap Wells, not far from the summit. Having previously caught LNER A2 60532 ‘Blue Peter’ galloping up the gradient last year (see separate video), I knew it would be a prime location. A large crowd of photographers had assembled along the bank, battering against the strong wind gusts. To my surprise, both services were running early. ‘Tangmere’ soon honed into view, whistling to spectators but undeniably sharing the workload with the rear diesel. As soon as she passed the camera, ’Tornado’ could be seen bearing down on her in the distance. With the regulator at full chat, the A1 dug her wheels into the climb, cresting the hill unassisted and reaching Carlisle four minutes early. I hope you all enjoy the video. It’s always a thrill to see mainline steam charters in quick succession. I apologise for the somewhat distorted audio; the wind on top of the fells put my microphone through its paces! Don’t forget to follow our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... and   / secondvalvesteam   for photos, updates and more. Feel free to express your favourite engine in the comments and don’t forget to like and subscribe!