The Flying Scotsman is back right after a 6 year overhaul at the National Railway Museum in York, England. Effectively when we say back its not on the line but but it has produced an look 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 1 of Britain's most well-known steam locomotive designers and engineers.
The locomotive has been number countless occasions in the course of its history. Upon completion at Doncaster it was given the number 1472 and subsequently was renumbered 4472. It was below this number that The Flying Scotsman became the 1st steam locomotive to officially be recorded at 100mph. This achievement was notable at the time as LNER took just about every chance to promote its service against its rivals services.
In 1946 the locomotive was renumbered twice. Originally it was renumbered 502 but in the May well it was renumbered again to 103. A couple of years later soon after nationalisation all train numbers were altered and the locomotive was renumbered to 60103. The locomotive ran till 1963 when it was sold for preservation.
A few years later The Flying Scotsman started a series of tours in the UK and right after an extensive overhaul the locomotive was sent on a tour to the USA. Unfortunately whilst this enterprise was initially effective it eventually led to the owners of the locomotive going bankrupt and speculation about the future ensued. Thankfully 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.
For the duration of 1988/89 the Flying Scotsman was once more on tour abroad and this time the destination was Australia. The locomotive was the star of a number of important steam festivals and in August 1989 achieved the record for the longest non stop journey by a steam train - some 442 miles.
Once again although the locomotive changed hands and was staring another major overhaul in the face which quite possibly wouldn't have occurred till 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 organization (Flying Scotsman plc) was floated with intention of offering funding to run the locomotive but sadly the provider lasted just 14 months before shares had been suspended and the company liquidated.
The only genuine selection for survival was to get yet another owner and this time it was purchased 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. In the course of the subsequent six years the general public had been able to maintain tabs on developments as the workshop has a walkway above that visitors can view the work taking location. In May perhaps 2011 the outcomes of that overhaul had been 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 discovered on the restored locomotive will now mean that the order of the day is repair rather than exhibition.
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