REPAIRS to the Tornado steam locomotive are on track for completion in time for the locomotive’s first commercial run of 2011 in May, say its owners.

The famous locomotive is nearing the end of a major winter overhaul, which has seen the boiler shipped to a specialist workshop in Germany for repairs to two cracks and an overhaul of its fire box.

Meanwhile, the body of the locomotive is having a new coat of paint at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.

Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which built Tornado, said: “It’s going very well.

“We have two parts to the work; there’s the winter overhaul at the NRM but the boiler is in Germany.

“The overhaul is going well, it’s a lot of work but it’s all going well. The boiler will be tested with water this week and is expected to be back in York by early April.”

He said supporters and customers of the train could expect to see it in its new livery when it appears this spring.

The old shade of green will be replaced by a darker tone, called Brunswick Green, which would have been seen on trains of Tornado’s class of locomotive from 1951.

Mr Allatt said: “We promised our supporters that within the first ten years of service we would carry all the liveries that would have been used on this type of train.”

Once the boiler is back in York, the complicated work of connecting it back to Tornado’s body will begin and the trust is currently looking for fitters who can volunteer their expertise in April to help with the work.

He said: “These mates need to be able to identify a Whitworth spanner, know the difference between an imperial spanner and a metric one, what a wrench is, have some empathy with dealing with reasonably delicate parts such as pipe work, and who aren’t averse to helping lift heavy and unwieldy pieces of metal, etc.”

If you would like to volunteer, email chris.walker@a1steam.com