Flying Scotsman to appear at May Half Term event

The May half term celebrations get off to a flying start on 28-30 May with a special Preview Weekend when Flying Scotsman will appear on the Museum’s turntable in wartime LNER Black livery. After the bank holiday weekend, Flying Scotsman will be worked on behind the scenes by the Museum’s workshop team to ensure it is ready for the upcoming steam tests and commissioning runs in June.

To celebrate the preview event, the Museum will be hosting nine days (28 May – 5 June) of Flying Scotsman themed fun including daily bagpipe performances, craft activities, a discovery trail to uncover facts about Flying Scotsman and a chance to find out more about the restoration with daily talks and video footage. A number of Flying Scotsman related objects will also be on display in the Museum’s research and archive centre, Search Engine.

Hannah Collingridge, from the Learning Team at the NRM, said:

“Flying Scotsman is hugely popular with all ages and this will be a unique opportunity to kick-start the celebrations ahead of her much anticipated return. From an atmospheric bagpiper and turntable talks beside the locomotive, to hands-on Flying Scotsman craft activities– the whole family can join us in celebrating this steam icon.”

A temporary exhibition displaying entries to the Museum’s Flying Scotsman model competition will also add to the themed week with visitors being invited to vote for the model they feel is the most deserving of the highly sought after prize – a ride behind the newly restored Flying Scotsman. Back in January, modellers were encouraged to get crafty and make a model of the locomotive out of any material they liked. Similar to Flying Scotsman itself, the thirty four models have been lovingly crafted using a wide variety of old and new materials with interesting results.

The Museum will also be rolling out many of its popular activities for the holiday period including explosive Science Shows, high energy theatre performances by the Museums Platform 4 theatre group and interactive story telling sessions.

Following the May event, the next big celebration on Scotsman’s calendar will be in June, when the public will be given the opportunity to witness Flying Scotsman as it carries out its steam test at the National Railway Museum. This will be the first time the public will have seen the locomotive steaming at an event like this since 2006. Once its steam tests and commissioning runs are all complete, Flying Scotsman will be painted in its iconic Apple Green livery and throughout August, visitors will be able to access the cab of the famous steam engine while on display in the Museum’s Great Hall.

Admission to the National Railway Museum is free. The Museum will be open for extended opening hours throughout May half term from 09:30 – 18:00. More information about Flying Scotsman and her return can be found at www.flyingscotsman.org.uk.

ENDS

For more information contact:
Gemma Sneyd, Interim Senior Press Officer, NRM
01904 686271
gemma.sneyd@nrm.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

• In 2004, children handed over their pocket money and pensioners took out their cheque books in a bid to ensure that Flying Scotsman was not sold abroad, and instead was saved for the Nation and kept in Britain. The appeal to keep No.4472 in Britain was supported by the entire Country, and a £2million bid by the National Railway Museum, generously supported by a £1.8million grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and donations from members of the public, secured its fate.

• The restoration of Flying Scotsman has been generously supported by Tata Steel, formerly Corus, a £275,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and support from many other generous organisations.

• The National Railway Museum in York covers over 400 years of railway history and its collections include over 100 locomotives , some 250 items of rolling stock and thousands of other objects - from posters and tickets to uniforms and silverware. Visitors can enjoy a fun family day out with the kids including an action-packed annual programme of special events and exhibitions. Admission to the museum is free.

• Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported more than 30,000 projects allocating £4.5billion across the UK. Website: www.hlf.org.uk

• The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up to save the most outstanding parts of our national heritage in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. NHMF currently receives annual grant-in-aid from the Government of £10m. It is due to receive £20m between 2011and 2015. www.nhmf.org.uk

• The European operations of Tata Steel (formerly known as Corus) comprise Europe's second largest steel producer. With main steelmaking operations in the UK and the Netherlands, they supply steel and related services to the construction, automotive, packaging, material handling and other demanding markets worldwide. Tata Steel is one of the world’s top ten steel producers. The combined group has an aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and approximately 80,000 employees across four continents.