"Tornado" moved under its own power for the first time on 29 July 2008 at Darlington, and then spent two months at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough, where it was tested up to and operated its first passenger train. "Tornado" then moved to the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York for three test runs on the main line up to . After repainting from works grey into LNER Apple Green, "Tornado" was approved for mainline passenger operation. On 31 January 2009 "Tornado" hauled its first passenger trip on the main line, "The Peppercorn Pioneer", from York to Newcastle and back. By hauling various A1 Trust railtours, charters and other activities, "Tornado" will begin to recoup the estimated £800,000 debt from the project, which cost around £3 million.