page_title: The Castle, Newcastle
section_title: Current building
hierarchical_section_title: The Castle, Newcastle / Current building
caption_attribution_description: Old meets new. On her maiden passenger voyage, the brand new steam locomotive no. 60163 Tornado faces the Castle Keep in Newcastle upon Tyne, northern England. Tornado had arrived just after 13:20 GMT on Saturday 31 January 2009 on her first main line passenger journey, The Peppercorn Pioneer. This train had started in York to the south, arriving in Newcastle over the King Edward VII Bridge. Tornado stands on Platform 2 of Newcastle Central Station facing East with her support coach, and a rake of 12 passenger carriages behind it, photographed from Platform 3. The railway tracks in the background bear left as the continuation of the East Coast Main Line north to Scotland, and bear right to go south over the High Level Bridge back over the River Tyne. After the picture was taken, the coaching stock was hauled clear by a diesel, and Tornado reversed under her own steam to Tyne Yard for servicing, before returning to haul the return journey at 16:34 GMT. Tornado is a 100% new locomotive, completed in 2008, the first new main line steam locomotive to be built in Britain for almost 50 years. She was built to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) design of the original A1 Peppercorn Class locomotives, built in 1948/9. Tornado wears the historic Apple Green livery of LNER, although with 'British Railways' on the tender, the first livery worn by 30 members of the original 49 strong Peppercorn A1 class. The original locomotives entered service with the nationalised British Railways, which absorbed the LNER and other private railway companies in 1948. The original A1 class were all scrapped by 1966 after a relatively short service life, after the railway Modernisation Plan of the 1950s called for the replacement of steam with modern traction comprising both diesel and electric locomotives. On her maiden voyage, Tornado was carrying 500 financial supporters of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust on The Peppercorn Pioneer, named in honour of Arthur Peppercorn, the chief engineer of the LNER and the original designer of the Peppercorn A1 class of locomotive. The A1 Trust are a Darlington based charity who built the locomotive, in a project dating back to 1990 and costing £3 million.
context_page_description: The Castle, Newcastle, is a medieval fortification in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, built on the site of the fortress that gave the City of Newcastle its name. The most prominent remaining structures on the site are the Castle Keep, the castle's main fortified stone tower, and the Black Gate, its fortified gatehouse.
  Use of the site for defensive purposes dates from Roman times, when it housed a fort and settlement called Pons Aelius, guarding a bridge over the River Tyne. Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, in 1080 built a wooden motte and bailey style castle on the site of the Roman fort. Curthose built this 'New Castle upon Tyne' after he returned south from a campaign against Malcolm III of Scotland. Henry II built the stone Castle Keep between 1172 and 1177 on the site of Curthose's castle. Henry III added the Black Gate between 1247 and 1250. Nothing remains of the Roman fort or the original motte and bailey castle. The Keep is a Grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
  The Castle Keep and Black Gate pre-date the construction of the Newcastle town wall, construction of which started around 1265, and did not include it.
context_section_description: The Keep is a Grade I listed building, and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is a roughly square building, measuring 62 feet (19 m) by 56 feet (17 m) and 81 feet (25 m) tall. The entrance leads via flights of stairs to the second floor and into the Great Hall, the largest room in the keep, measuring 30 feet (9.1 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m). The Black Gate was approached via a drawbridge across a moat. A wooden bridge has replaced the drawbridge. The original gate had a portcullis, and the recesses where this fitted can still be seen. The keep is currently owned by Newcastle City Council and managed by the Heart of the City Partnership.
  The Castle Keep can be visited today. The keep is also notable in having the main East Coast railway line running through the centre of the grounds. In particular, the battlements offer fine views over the River Tyne quayside, the cathedral and Newcastle station. The castle is reputedly haunted, and has been subject to many paranormal investigations. It featured in an episode of Most Haunted.
  The Castle Keep and the Black Gate have recently been refurbished by the Heart of the City partnership and reopened on 21 March 2015 as Newcastle Castle. In addition to improved accessibility, new additions include an education centre, reception/gift shop and museum room in the Black Gate and audio-visual installations in the Castle Keep, telling the story of the site and the people who have lived there over the years.
caption: The keep as viewed from Newcastle station's island platform. Brand new steam locomotive 60163 Tornado stands to the left
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