Flying Scotsman whistles into Edinburgh for 100th birthday

 the Flying Scotsman represents the "coming together of mechanics and magic"

Fri, 24 February 2023

The Flying Scotsman, the first steam train to reach over 100 miles an hour, turned 100 on Friday, whistling its way into Edinburgh's Waverley station to mark the day.

Judith McNicol, director of the National Railway Museum, said the train is an icon and is recognised worldwide.

"It's been to America. It's been to Australia. It's well travelled, so it's well recognised as well," she told AFP.

The 97-tonne train was designed by Edinburgh-born Sir Nigel Gresley and was built in Doncaster at a cost 7,944 pounds at the time.

It left Doncaster Works on February 24, 1923 and was named Flying Scotsman a year later at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley after taking the 10:00 am route from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley.

It was the first train to complete the journey non-stop and in 1934 became the first steam train to travel at over 100 miles per hour.

The Flying Scotsman also holds the world record for the longest non-stop run for a steam locomotive, set in 1989 with a 422-mile (679-kilometre) trip.

- 'Mechanics and magic' -

One of the reasons the train could make the non-stop trip was an access corridor that allowed drivers to switch places easily when they needed a rest, McNicol said.

It retired from regular service in 1963 after covering over two million miles.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who read out a poem at the celebration for the train's 100th anniversary, said the Flying Scotsman represents the "coming together of mechanics and magic".

"There's something very dreamlike about the whole thing," he told AFP.

"It's a big, filthy, noisy, messy beast as well as being very beautiful and very powerful".

The train, owned by the National Railway Museum in York, will spend the rest of the year travelling across the Britain to give people the chance to see the engine in action.

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Rail union calls for Caledonian Sleeper to be taken into public ownership

Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Fri, 24 February 2023 


A leading rail workers’ union is calling on the Scottish Government to take the Caledonian Sleeper into public ownership.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said it expects a decision next week on who will operate the service between Inverness and London from this summer.

It is currently operated by private company Serco.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We have pressured the Scottish Government alongside politicians and others to do the right thing and take Caledonian Sleeper into public ownership.

“It is what our members on the service want and would be in the interests of the travelling public.”