UK: Tornado 'Top Gear' race to the north

[John Ashworth]

By an incredible stroke of luck I turned on DSTV this evening just in time to watch the UK car programme 'Top Gear' with their much-publicised race from London to Edinburgh between a 1949 Jaguar, a 1949 Vincent motorbike, and Tornado.

The Jaguar beat Tornado by a whisker, due in part to adverse signals just before Edinburgh (following a stopping train), an earlier injector failure where they had to reduce speed to get the boiler full again, and four water stops and one coal stop.

Well-known 'Top Gear' presenter Jeremy Clarkson shovelled a lot of coal. If his technique is anything to go by, he probably used a lot more energy than he needed! They maintained a bit of drama on the footplate for the benefit of the camera. One wonders how many people are allowed on the footplate in the UK - it seemed like hordes.

Well worth watching for the entertainment value, although there were interludes when one only saw cars, no steam locos. There were some great video shots taken from the air.

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

Yes John this was brilliant. The Tornado should have won hands down. Old Clarkson was buggered. He could hardly walk to the finishing point