Updated: RAIL enthusiasts and Royalists lined the platforms of York Station, as Britain’s first steam locomotive for almost 50 years was officially named by Prince Charles.

The Prince met local dignitaries and people involved in the project, before unveiling the name-plate on the Tornado on Platform 9 yesterday morning.

An RAF band and fly-past added to the occasion, but hundreds of onlookers who had massed on platform 10 to watch the events had their excitement spoiled at the last minute, when a Virgin Crosscountry train pulled in and blocked their view.

The Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, spent time talking to members of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which launched the project in 1990, before he delivered a short speech from a podium beside the locomotive.

The Prince said: “Nothing could give either myself or my wife greater pleasure than to be here at York Station on this very special occasion of the naming of this new locomotive.

“I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the team of people who, for the past 19 years, have been doing their utmost to produce this remarkable achievement.”

He said the Tornado was a tribute to British engineering, and joked that he was born in the same year as the first A1 locomotive was produced, 1948 – “a very good vintage, I promise you”.

After unveiling the name plate, The Prince swapped his overcoat for a train-driver’s coat and boarded the locomotive.

Following a brief delay while the engine was stoked, the Tornado gave a loud whistle and pulled away for Leeds just after 10.40am, as the RAF band struck up again. Among those presented to The Prince and Duchess was two-year-old Samuel Tindall, who became the 2,000th sponsor of the Trust, when his grandfather Robin signed him up for his second birthday. Mr Tindall, of Huddersfield, said: “This means a lot to me.

“It can be quite emotional when you have spent so much effort on something like this, with volunteers.”

The Tornado will be at the National Railway Museum this weekend.

* View photos taken at the Tornado official naming ceremony>>

Footage provided by our sister newspaper The Northern Echo:

The following footage was kindly provided by Press reader Paul Hepworth: