NRM | Flying Scotsman

Flying Scotsman

The Route

The Route of the Flying Scotsman comprises 390 miles (627 km) of East Coast Main Line, between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The East Coast Main Line was not built in once piece, but grew with the ambitions of three Victorian railway companies. The section between London Kings Cross and Doncaster was built by the Great Northern Railway and opened in 1853. The North Eastern Railway built the section between Doncaster and Berwick, but the current route was not opened until 1876. The North British Railway built the line between Berwick and Edinburgh in 1846.

The original station at York was built as a terminus, inside the old city walls. Trains going north or south had to reverse into the station. This delay was removed in 1877 when York’s new station opened.

Until 1906 Newcastle was also a terminus, with trains being forced to reverse into the city’s main station. However, a new bridge over the river Tyne solved this access problem.

The last re-alignment of the East Coast Main Line in the twentieth century was in 1983, when a 13 mile (20 km) diversion was built around the Selby coalfield. The diversion was built to avoid any possibility of subsidence affecting the tracks running over this active mining area.

British Rail completed the electrification of the East Coast Main Line in 1991, making the route of the Flying Scotsman one of the most modern high-speed railways in Britain. The current holder of the operating franchise is the Great North Eastern Railway.

The Train

The Flying Scotsman service began in 1862 with the introduction of a 10 am departure from Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The train was named in the timetable as the Special Scotch Express and was reserved for first and second class ticket holders. The journey time was 10½ hours, inclusive of a 30 minute lunch stop at York. Despite its title of Special Scotch Express the service included carriages for Sheffield and Manchester.

In the summer of 1888, the Special Scotch Express opened its doors to third class passengers, exciting much comment from the newspapers of the time. August 1888 was also notable for a series of railway races, when the rival companies running trains between London and Edinburgh fought to gain the fastest time between the two capitals. The races ended with an agreed new running timetable for all concerned and the Special Scotch Express making its journey in 8½ hours.

The Special Scotch Express entered a new era of comfort and sophistication in 1900, as a new set of carriages was brought into service. The East Coast Joint Stock, (one coach of which can be seen in the Station Hall at NRM) provided dining cars, first and third class compartments, corridor connections between carriages, toilets, heating and lighting. The York lunch stop was cut to 15 minutes, since passengers could now dine on the train.

In 1924 the Railway Groupings Act created four new railway companies to run Britain’s railways, the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMSR), the Great Western Railway (GWR), the Southern Railway (SR) and the London North Eastern Railway (LNER). The LNER was keen to establish itself as a brand and it chose the Special Scotch Express as the means to do it.

The Special Scotch Express was re-named the Flying Scotsman and to help promote this fact a new express locomotive was named Flying Scotsman and put on display at the British Empire Exhibition. The name, the engine and the train became an instant hit with the public.

The Flying Scotsman began running non-stop between London and Edinburgh in 1928. Running 392 miles (630km) without stopping was a brilliant publicity coup for the LNER and testament to the technology of the railway. However, for passengers it made little difference; the journey was still 8¼ hours long, the same as in 1900.

In the 1930s Britain was going through a serious economic depression; private cars and domestic air services were eating into passenger numbers and the LNER needed to fight back. Speed was the answer and between 1932 and 1938 the Flying Scotsman cut its journey times from 8¼ hours to 7 hours 20 minutes.

As the Flying Scotsman speeded up, passenger luxury levels reached new heights, with the provision of an onboard hairdressing service, cocktail bar and one of the finest restaurant services in Britain. Taking the Flying Scotsman in the 1930s was more like joining a cruise liner than an express train.

All this ended in 1939 with the outbreak of World War Two. Wartime timetables allowed 8¼ hours for the journey, although it often took longer. To cope with wartime passenger levels, two Flying Scotsman trains were run in each direction. Overcrowding became endemic, with passengers feeling lucky just to find space in the corridors. The railways tried to provide accommodation for all its passengers, often running the Flying Scotsman with over twenty carriages at a time, but passenger numbers always outstripped the available accommodation.

The Flying Scotsman’s fine dining carriages adjusted to wartime conditions by providing a restricted meals service. More spectacular was the expansion of the Flying Scotsman’s buffet meal service, its simple, cheap food being more in tune with the democratic sentiments of the people’s war.
In 1948 Britain’s railways were nationalised and along with the rest of Britain’s railways, the Flying Scotsman tried to return to peacetime standards. Between 1945 and 1955 the Flying Scotsman achieved a 7 hour journey time. This 7 hour timing was achieved despite the fact that the Flying Scotsman was no longer a non-stop train, this duty falling to a new train, the Capitals Limited.

1962 saw a steep change in the Flying Scotsman service with the introduction of English Electric diesel electric locomotives onto the East Coast Main Line. The Deltics transformed the Flying Scotsman’s timetable by chopping an hour off the journey. Passengers were impressed and British Railways’ publicity department made sure the Deltic-hauled Flying Scotsman was given due attention by the nation’s media.

Progress was now rapid, track was re-laid and bottlenecks smoothed out and by 1967 the Flying Scotsman covered the 392 mile (630 km) journey in 5 hours 50 minutes. 1970 saw air-conditioned carriages introduced and by 1977 further track renewal had cut running time to 5 hours 27 minutes.

This, however, was only a beginning: in 1978 British Rail Engineering’s High Speed Train went into service bringing new levels of passenger comfort and 125 mph (201 kmph) operating speeds. Journey times came tumbling down, and by 1982 the Flying Scotsman was booked to run from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley in 4 hours 35 minutes.

In 1991 the East Coast Main Line was electrified and a new fleet of trains took to the rails, the Intercity 225. This turned out to be British Rail’s last gasp, as in 1994 Britain’s railways were privatised and the East Coast Main Line franchised to a new company, the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER).

Like the LNER 70 years before, GNER wanted to establish a brand identity in the public mind and not surprisingly they chose the most famous train that travels the East Coast Main Line, the Flying Scotsman. The current franchise holder for the East Coast main line is National Express.

In 2008 the Flying Scotsman still runs between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, completing the journey in 4 hours and 30 minutes.

The Engine

The locomotive was completed at Doncaster works on 7 February 1923. It cost £7,944 and was given the running number No 1472. Following a short period on display at Marylebone station, the A1 express passenger locomotive No 1472 was put into service.

In 1924 the LNER were invited to display a locomotive at the British Empire Exhibition. No 1472 was awaiting repairs, so was re-numbered 4472 under the new LNER numbering scheme, named Flying Scotsman, and placed before an adoring public. This established a pattern for the LNER of using Flying Scotsman as a flagship locomotive around the UK.

In 1928 Flying Scotsman pulled the Flying Scotsman train on its first non-stop run. The locomotive was only able to achieve this feat because the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER, Nigel Gresley, had improved the efficiency of his design to a point where it could travel 392 miles (630 km) on one tender of coal. Gresley also designed a ‘corridor’ tender to allow a crew change, mid-journey. Because of this, Flying Scotsman became a household name and the LNER brand was established.

Flying Scotsman became a movie star in 1929 when it was used in the film ‘The Flying Scotsman.’ Nigel Gresley was so concerned at the un-safe practices shown in the film, he insisted that a disclaimer was placed in the opening credits explaining that such things would not happen on the LNER. Not all publicity was good publicity!

In 1934, Flying Scotsman achieved the first authenticated 100mph (160 kmph) by a steam locomotive. The record was made as part of a proving test for the introduction of high-speed, streamlined expresses between London, Newcastle and Leeds. However, Nigel Gresley ensured that when Flying Scotsman steamed into Kings Cross the Press were there to record the achievement.

In 1938 a new set of carriages was provided for the Flying Scotsman train. To celebrate, the LNER provided an 1888 train pulled by Stirling Single No1, and Flying Scotsman was there for publicity purposes.

With the outbreak of World War Two in 1939, Flying Scotsman became an ordinary working engine, painted in black livery. The locomotive had many number changes and pulled goods, parcels and passenger trains for the war effort. The glamour days had gone.

British Railways was established in 1948 and it showed no interest in resuscitating the Flying Scotsman as a publicity symbol for the railway. Worse still, in 1955 British Railways published a modernisation plan that proposed the abandonment of steam traction. Unless a private buyer saved it, Flying Scotsman would go for scrap.

Alan Pegler was a member of the Eastern Regional Board of British Railways, and a midlands businessman with a private fortune. When he discovered the fate awaiting Flying Scotsman, he decided to buy it. However, he went one step further than buying the locomotive; he negotiated running powers over the British Railways network until 1971. This allowed Flying Scotsman to earn money pulling rail tours around Britain.

Alan Pegler agreed a price of £3000 with British Railways and on 14 January1963, Flying Scotsman pulled its last train for British Railways. It was handed over to Alan Pegler at Doncaster, where it was given an overhaul and returned to its LNER condition.

Flying Scotsman then began a career of rail tours and star appearances at heritage railways: its first was a Festiniog Railway special from Paddington to Ruabon in Wales.

On 1 May 1968, Flying Scotsman re-enacted its feat of forty years before by running non-stop from Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley. By this date Flying Scotsman was the only private steam locomotive allowed to run on British Rail’s network, but Alan Pegler was more interested in heading for the USA, so did not exploit this position.

October to November 1969 found Flying Scotsman in America. The trip was backed by the Board of Trade and well supported by British companies hoping to trade in the USA. The trip was a success; its revenue covered its expenses and all seemed set fair.

But events were about to blow Flying Scotsman off course. A change of government in the UK lead to the Board of Trade withdrawing support for the trip. Without official backing, big business stepped away. Within the USA, the Vietnam War and events in Northern Ireland made America an unfriendly place for an old British steam engine. It was even feared Irish Americans would try and shoot at the Flying Scotsman.

Alan Pegler refused to be put off by all this. He had agreed to deliver some coaches to the US National Railway Museum at Green Bay Wisconsin and he was determined to honour this agreement. So he began his second tour from Texas to Green Bay in 1970.

Unfortunately, with no proper backing, Alan Pegler had to pay all the bills and his money began to drain away. Despite this he continued touring the USA and Canada, driving Flying Scotsman thousands of miles. In 1972, the creditors finally closed in on Flying Scotsman.

Alan Pegler saved Flying Scotsman from its American creditors by having the loco stored in a US army base. In January 1973, William McAlpine bought Flying Scotsman, settled its debts and shipped it home via the Panama Canal.

William McAlpine had the locomotive repaired and re-launched on the heritage railway world. Flying Scotsman was soon the people’s engine once more, drawing crowds wherever it put in an appearance.

In 1988, Flying Scotsman went to Australia as part of that nation’s bicentennial celebrations. Whilst there, Flying Scotsman established a new record by steaming the 442 miles (711 km) from Parkes to Broken Hill. This was the longest non-stop run ever recorded by a steam locomotive.

After 23 years of successfully running the engine Sir William sold Flying Scotsman to Tony Marchington in 1996 for £1.25 million. The locomotive was given a total overhaul and in July 1999 recommenced it role as a star of the heritage railway world.

Tony Marchington had big plans for Flying Scotsman, and to fund them in 2001 he floated a company called Flying Scotsman Limited. Its chief project was the creation of a permanent home for the locomotive called Flying Scotsman World. The failure of this project and increasing running costs forced the sale of Flying Scotsman.

In 2004 Flying Scotsman was bought for the Nation. The National Railway Museum was only able to offer the locomotive a home through the generosity of the general public, and the support of Heritage Lottery Fund, Yorkshire Forward and Richard Branson.

The locomotive has now been withdrawn from service, as the current period of certification which legally allows it to run on the main line has expired. It will be completely dismantled and overhauled to the highest possible standards in order to re-certify it for the next seven to ten years. We are hoping to complete this process by late 2008 in order that the locomotive can be back hauling trains.

Much of the overhaul will take place in the workshops at York, although various components will be sent to specialist engineers all over the country. This means that visitors will be able to monitor progress from the viewing gallery above the workshops, although at times there may be only the frames and disassembled components to see.

The Flying Scotsman Story Exhibition opened at the National Railway Museum in April 2006.