THE historic three day mainline steam service on the Settle-Carlisle line has proved a sell-out success.

Tornado, which was built from scratch in Darlington by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, has carried several thousand passengers on its two daily timetabled trips between Appleby in Cumbria and Skipton in North Yorkshire - which ended today (Thursday, February 16).

The Peppercorn class A1 locomotive, completed in 2008 after 18 years fundraising for the £3m needed, made history - as the first timetabled ordinary main line passenger steam train to run in England for more than 50 years.

It was part of an initiative organised by Northern Rail, Network Rail and the Friends of Settle and Carlisle Line and was part of the celebrations to mark the upcoming re-opening of the line after a stretch was closed by landslides.

Paul Barnfield, Regional Director at Northern said: “It is great to see so many people supporting this historic venture.

“We always knew that the first timetabled steam services in the UK for 50 years would be extremely popular, but the demand for tickets has been phenomenal.”

A spokesman for the Settle-Carlisle Railway confirmed that demand for tickets had been “extremely high” and the services had been fully booked.