Steaming to 100-a Scotsman retrospective · 10:38pm Feb 24th, 2023
Today, the 24th February, is the centenery of what is sometimes referred to as 'the most famous steam locomotive in the world'. Today, I shall be taking you all, dear readers, through the life and times of No. 1472/4472/502/103/60103 Flying Scotsman.
Chapter 1-1923-1939
(4472 pictures in 1924. This is the engine more or less as-built)
Locomotive No. 1472 was built at Doncaster Works in February 1923 at a cost of £7,944 (or about £5.6 million today). Originally it ran without a name, and the number was the result of the LNER lacking a company-wide numbering system (the Grouping had come into effect only a month earlier). In 1924, the engine was allocated the number 4472 and gained the name Flying Scotsman, named after the passenger service of the same name.
The LNER quickly realised the marketing potential of an engine named after its premier express train, and the engine was used heavily in company marketing. It appeared at the British Empire Exhibition as a prominent exhibit, but otherwise settled into regular express work.
In 1928, the engine received a new tender, specifically a corridor design which allowed loco crews to be changed without stopping.
Another notable feature of the tender was its water scoop, which allowed the engine to complete the 400 mile run from King's Cross to Waverley without stopping by taking advantage of water troughs. It ran with this tender until 1936, when it was paired with a non-corridor streamlined tender. It worked with this second tender for the remainder of its revenue-earning career.
In 1935, the LNER decided to have a crack at the world speed record. 4472 was picked for this task, and paired with a standard coach rake and a dynamometer car to record speed. The paperwork recorded the train touching 100mph for a few seconds, and this meant that, on the face of it, 4472 was the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as having run at 100mph. However, the reality is more complicated; it was subsequently discovered the dynamometer car was incorrectly calibrated and was reading fast. Scotsman's highest speed on the run was actually 95mph when this is factored in.
The Second World War brought a sudden end to the glamourous era of steam travel, and 4472, already having been removed from frontline service after the introduction of the A4s, was utilised for the war effort.
Chapter 2-1940-1948
(The wartime black livery the engine carried for most of the 1940s. Note: double chimney is anachronistic for the livery)
In an effort to reduce maintenance costs and save on resources, the LNER repainted most of its engines black during WW2. Scotsman received this treatment, and ran in this livery for many years. Otherwise, nothing of note happened during WW2.
In 1946, the engine was renumbered twice under a new numbering scheme introduced by Edward Thompson. In January the locomotive was renumbered as 502, but became 103 just four months later. Further changes followed in 1947, when the engine was extensively rebuilt.
All the way back in 1928, Gresley had revised the A1 design to create the A3s, a series of modifications based on the performance of the GWR Castle Class. Scotsman was rebuilt as such in 1947, gaining (amongst other things) new valves, improved cylinders, and a new 225psi boiler to replace the earlier 180psi one. This boiler also came fitted with the 'banjo' dome design closely associated with Gresley locomotives.
On 31st December 1947, the Nationalisation of the Railways came into effect, which replaced the LMS, LNER, GWR, and Southern Railways with British Railways. As part of this, former LNER engines were allocated the region prefix of 6, with placeholder digits added to ensure five-digit numbers. Hence, 103 became 60103.
Chapter 3-1948-1963
(60103 in 1957, about a year before the fitting of a double chimney.)
60103, as it was now, was allocated to Leicester Central depot (on the former Great Central mainline) between 1950 and 1953 before a short spell at Grantham. It was then reallocated again to Top Shed at King's Cross, where it would remain until withdrawal.
Visually, the engine changed little from the 1940s, with the exception of the application of Brunswick Green with red and orange lining. This changed in 1958, when a double chimney was fitted to improve steaming. Unfortunately, this only had the effect of blowing steam in the driver's eyes. The engine was taken in for further modification in 1961, with the fitting of smoke deflectors that drastically altered the engine's appearance:
However, the writing was firmly on the wall for East Coast steam. British Railways had been looking to replace steam traction with diesel locomotives, and found the answer in the English Electric Type 4s, better known as Deltics:
Able to cruise at 100 miles per hour, the Deltics dramatically cut travel times and were vastly more efficient than the engines they replaced. Whilst many of the express engines were transferred to either stopping or freight work, it was now a matter of when, not if, they would be withdrawn.
60103 was formally withdrawn from traffic on 14th January 1963, after working the 13:15 King's Cross to Leeds service as far as Doncaster. An attempt to raise money to buy the engine failed to meet BR's quoted price, and it seemed as though the next stop in Scotsman's journey was the breaker's yard.
Chapter 4-1963-1972
Enter British businessman Alan Pegler. Pegler stumped up the required £3,500 to purchase the engine, and undertook a costly conversion to return 60103 to as close to 1920s condition as possible. Notably, the engine was reunited with the corridor tender it had last run with in 1936.
The railtour scene was very different to nowadays, and for many years 4472 (as it was again) was the only steam engine running on the main line. The withdrawal of steam power also led to a reduction in the coal and water facilities required, and as part of this Pegler bought a second tender in 1966, modified to carry water. The result was possibly the engine's most well known appearance visually:
4472 also worked the final steam service out of King's Cross, when in May 1968 it ran nonstop from London to Edinburgh as part of the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the nonstop Flying Scotsman run.
In 1969, Pegler had the bright idea of taking 4472 to North America. Whilst UK engines travelling to the US and Canada was nothing new (6000 King George V visited in 1927 for the 100th anniversary of the Baltimore and Ohio, and 6229 Duchess of Hamilton attended the Chicago World's Fair in 1939), the tour was, to put it mildly, ambitious. However, the trip was being financed as part of a British trade mission to the USA, so money wasn't an issue-yet.
The engine would need heavy modifications to run in the United States, and was fitted with crossbars, a high-intensity headlamp, and a bell. These modifications, in my opinion, ruined the engine's appearance:
The tour began in October 1969 in Boston, MA, and soon worked across North America. The trip, on the whole, went reasonably well despite needing diesel haulage for some sections. Unfortunately, the trip bankrupted Pegler, and he was forced to leave the engine stranded at a US Army base to ensure it would not be scrapped by creditors. Whilst he made his way back to Britain as an after-dinner speaker on a ship, 4472 seemed like it would be stuck in the States for a bit.
Chapter 5-1973-1995
The next major figure in the Scotsman story is William McAlpine, aka Concrete Bill. After being notified of 4472's perilous state, he acquired the engine and had it shipped back to the UK. Upon its return, he had the American modifications removed, returning the engine to something closer resembling its 1920s appearance:
The engine also received a new boiler, a spare from an A4, in 1986. This would have disastrous consequences further down the line.
For the next 20 years or so, Scotsman spent the bulk of its working life on the main line, with the odd visit to a heritage railway. However, in 1988 4472 was invited to run in Australia, as the country was celebrating its bicentennial. In order to operate safely in Australia, the engine was modified again, albeit with the changes cleverly disguised:
During its time Down Under, Scotsman operated across the country, even including a visit to 4079 Pendennis Castle which had been exported to Australia in the 1970s (the two engines had previously been exhibited together at the British Empire exhibition in 1924). But the most well known moment from the trip occurred on 8th August 1989 when the engine ran from Parkes to Broken Hill nonstop, a distance of 422 miles. This remains the longest nonstop run ever conducted by a steam locomotive.
Upon its return to the UK, Scotsman was overhauled, and returned to its late British Railways appearance. By this point, the engine was based at Southall depot, and McAlpine had gained the help of music promoter Pete Waterman to help manage the engine. Unfortunately, the pair ran into severe financial difficulties, and Scotsman was up for sale... again.
Chapter 6-1995-2004
60103's next owner was Tony Marchington, a businessman and railway enthusiast who took over the running of Flying Scotsman Railways. At this point the engine was in bits, having been severely damaged in an accident during a visit to the Llangollen railway. Marchington spent £1 million returning the engine to mainline condition, after which it was a familiar sight on railtours, including several runs on Pullman dining trains.
Unfortunately, things didn't go to plan. Much like Pegler and MacAlpine, Scotsman bled Marchington's bank account dry, and he declared bankruptcy in 2003. 4472 was once more up for sale, and this time the engine might leave Britain... forever.
Chapter 7-2004-2005
At this point in its career, 4472 looked like this, with the modifications it had gained in BR ownership combined with Apple Green livery. The result, safe to say, divided enthusiasts.
The debt agency overseeing Marchington's bankruptcy proceedings announced the engine would be sold as part of a sealed bidding process. A sealed bid, for those not familiar with auctions, is one where the money being spent is kept secret. It was known that many people across the globe would want to own the engine, or alternatively acquire it as a source of spare parts, there was a media frenzy.
The National Railway Museum took interest. Previously, the Museum had rejected Scotsman from being part of the National Collection as its function and design features were already represented by 4468 Mallard and 60800 Green Arrow. This time, it was determined to acquire the engine, and launched a fundraising scheme entitled Save our Scotsman. I donated to this campaign.
Eventually, the result of the bid was revealed, and for the sum of £2.3 million 4472 had been saved for the nation. Not long after, it was put into service on railtour duties. This was where I encountered the engine in person for the first time when it worked a trip from York to Scarborough and back. But as time went by, it soon became clear that the engine was in bad shape.
Chapter 8-2006-2016
When reviewing the Rover 75 for a column in The Times, Jeremy Clarkson remarked that "Never in the field of human endeavour has so much been done, so badly, by so many." This, I feel, perfectly sums up the National Railway Museum's handling of 4472.
Many of the engine's problems were a consequence of failures to spot problems during inspections, as well as mounting errors from previous owners. In December 2005, the engine was withdrawn for an overhaul that was intended to take one year.
It took 10, predominantly owing to the fact that they kept finding things wrong with it. After repeated delays and public frustration, the kit of parts was handed over to Ian Riley & Sons of Bury, Lancashire, for completion.
But on January 8th 2016, Scotsman returned to steam, albeit having a bit of an identity crisis. The engine had been outshopped in LNER Black in 2011 in what was believed to be the official return to steam, but since then had gained its BR number on the smokebox numberplate. The engine, after undergoing running in on the East Lancashire Railway, was repainted into Brunswick Green and returned to the mainline with a railtour from King's Cross to York (a friend of mine was on that).
Chapter 9-2017-Today
Scotsman's existance has settled into a regular routine of mainline runs and preserved railway visits, including pulling Alan Pegler's funeral train in 2018. After a stop for an overhaul in 2022, it is booked to run across the nation in 2023.
Long an icon of popular culture, and for many the defining image of the steam locomotive, Scotsman has had both a long and interesting life. Amongst other things it has appeared in films and many books, and was even incorporated as a character into the Railway Series (and later the TV show Thomas and Friends).
4472's appearance in TTTE is a combination of several different aspects of the engine's existance, notably the double chimney and smoke deflectors of the BR era, the double tender setup from the Pegler years, and the LNER number.
Who knows what the next 100 years will hold? Whatever they are, it certainly won't be boring!
I don't know if its just me or anything. But I'm fairly confident that the Flying Scotsman will never leave the UK again, her days of going overseas are long since past her. Is that just me?
While Scotsman isn't my fav pacific (which is canadian and from time to time my profile pic on this site) nor my fav UK steamer (which I do have one) I still think she's a great engine, not only have multiple records, escape the cutters torch twice, gone through various owners, and now a part of the National Collection in York, the very place that once didn't accept or want the engine in the first place which has owned the engine since 2004 and now is fit to run for the next decade!
Flying Scotsman has always been a favorite steamer of mine. I often enjoy driving him on my MSTS game on my computer.
But in my honest opinion, my favorite configuration of this engine would have to be Pegler double tender configuration. As for runner-up, the American Tour version.
If theres one word to describe why we need such heritage machines running in the public view.
Carrington.
It's a pretty interesting train
He was actually on the show twice. That's the more modern CGI appearance, but he appeared as a model in "Tender Engines."
5715178
I suspect the engine isn't in the shape to travel overseas. Besides, that sort of trip isn't done anymore.
5715183
Indeed. Not everybody sees it that way; there were many who saw the overhaul as a waste of taxpayer's money.
5715193
Carrington?
5715188
Fun fact; it is possible to drive Royal Scot, which is usually only an AI locomotive. It does require some AI trickery.
Scotsman in the game is pretty well modelled, with a slight change; the in-cab speedometer. Speedometers were rare on steam engines (only the BR Standards had them from new), and there was no legal requirement to have speed boards until 1955. However, I understand precisely why it was done in the sim.
5715196
Indeed.
5715198
Strictly speaking, 1/5th of Flying Scotsman appeared in the model era. Only the tenders were shown as the model wasn't finished in time.
happy anniversary to the flying scotsman. it's amazing that the most famous steam engine has turned to be a iconic engine of british railway's. probably my favorite history of the flying scotsman is when it visited the usa. when it operated on the southern with the 4501 and the 750 for the historic photo in alabama. i think the southern steam program was just a amazing program with the steam engines operated such as the main four. the 4501 the 750 the 630 and the 722. the leased engines the 610 the 2839 and the 2716. and of course inviting the flying scotsman to operate on their rails. i think william graham claytor jr. putted together a solid program showing people theses machines helped built the world for hundreds of years. i'm also glad that it had a role in the railway series and the show (i still think it's a shame that some other characters from the rws never made it into the show). though as many said they didn't have the money for them i think that's quit a shame. the one i really thought i wish was in the show was isbael the auto coach. (i just really been wondering what it would of been like if she was in the episodes with oliver and toad interacting with them going through the many adventures they had that's just the one character i really do wish was in the show).
5715217
Huh, I never knew that.
Sure. But I often use the screen thing that shows projected speed for a more accurate speed reading. Plus, it’s where I learned that Steam locomotive throttles’ were often called regulators.
5715215
Carrington event. Massive solar flares that cause immense EMP effects accross large electrical networks like overhead lines on railways, destructive voltage surges in signalling etc.
5715230
A lot of characters were cut from the show owing to budget constraints.
5715281
Ah, now I remember. Fascinating Horror did a video on it.
5715267
The F5 HUD?
5715285
Yeah.
5715286
Good choice.
Quite lovely steam locomotive in their own right.
5715351
Cheers. A seriously vintage piece of kit.