The Flying Scotsman is back after a 6 year overhaul at the National Railway Museum in York, England. Well when we say back its not on the line yet but it has made an appearance at a preview weekend in LNER Wartime Black livery and will be repainted in its usual Apple Green livery prior to a stint in the museum which in turn will precede the locomotive returning to service.

The Flying Scotsman is an LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive that was built in 1923 by Sir Nigel Gresley who was one of Britain\’s most famous steam locomotive designers and engineers.

The locomotive has been number many times during its history. Upon completion at Doncaster it was given the number 1472 and subsequently was renumbered 4472. It was under this number that The Flying Scotsman became the first steam locomotive to officially be recorded at 100mph. This achievement was notable at the time as LNER took every opportunity to promote its service against its rivals services.

In 1946 the locomotive was renumbered twice. Originally it was renumbered 502 but in the May it was renumbered again to 103. A couple of years later after nationalisation all train numbers were altered and the locomotive was renumbered to 60103. The locomotive ran until 1963 when it was sold for preservation.

A few years later The Flying Scotsman started a series of tours in the UK and after an extensive overhaul the locomotive was sent on a tour to the USA. Unfortunately whilst this enterprise was initially successful it eventually led to the owners of the locomotive going bankrupt and speculation about the future ensued. Fortunately a new owner managed to rescue the locomotive from the hands of the debt collectors in the USA and the engine was shipped back to the UK and was based at Carnforth.

During 1988/89 the Flying Scotsman was again on tour abroad and this time the destination was Australia. The locomotive was the star of a number of major steam festivals and in August 1989 achieved the record for the longest non stop journey by a steam train – some 442 miles.

Again though the locomotive changed hands and was staring another major overhaul in the face which probably wouldn\’t have happened until new owners again stepped in in 1996 and committed the locomotive to a £1 million 3 year overhaul.It was at this time that a company (Flying Scotsman plc) was floated with intention of providing funding to run the locomotive but unfortunately the company lasted just 14 months before shares were suspended and the company liquidated.

The only real option for survival was to get yet another owner and this time it was bought by the National Railway Museum in York for the National Collection in 2004 and in 2005 the locomotive entered the museums workshops for an overhaul. During the next six years the general public were able to keep tabs on developments as the workshop has a walkway above that visitors can view the work taking place. In May 2011 the results of that overhaul were put on display over a weekend at the National Railway Museum.

The Flying Scotsman was due to be the centre of attraction at the York museum in August 2011 but cracks found on the restored locomotive will now mean that the order of the day is repair rather than exhibition.

Author Bio: The National Railway Museum at York are continually trying to raise money for the upkeep of their collection and you can find out more about their Flying Scotsman memoribilia at Value Shopping Online. You can also check out future plans for the locomotive by visiting the NR

Category: Travel
Keywords: flying scotsman,steam locomotive,National Railway Museum