Rail enthusiasts will agree that nothing can compare to the stirring sight and sound of a thick cloud of steam puffing out of a majestic steam train, as it powers its way through the countryside.

The historic steam locomotive, the Flying Scotsman, is a fully-working memento of the golden age of British railways, still attracting a crowd wherever she goes, despite being the grand old lady of the tracks at 95 years old.

The Class A1 locomotive was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway, to serve the London to Edinburgh line, which had been jointly-operated since 1862 by three operators: the North Eastern, the North British and the Great Northern Railway.

The new train became known as the Flying Scotchman, although its official title was the Special Scotch Express. The locomotive became known as the Flying Scotsman over time.

History

Designed by railway engineer Sir Nigel Gresley, who was the chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway, his train engines were legendary for being both elegant and mechanically supreme.

He invented the efficient three-cylinder design, which had only two sets of valve gears to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons.

Known as the Gresley conjugated valve gear, his innovative design produced both power and smooth running at a low cost - compared with the costs of the conventional engines, which had three sets of valve gear.

The Flying Scotsman's A1 classification denoted the fact her wheels were placed in a 4-6-2 arrangement. At 70 feet long, the train weighs around 96 tonnes. She was built at the Doncaster Works between 1922 and 1923 and was launched to cover the London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley route as train number 1472.

Appearing at the famous Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 and again in 1925, more than 26 million people attended each exhibition, where the Flying Scotsman was undoubtedly the star.

World records

The Flying Scotsman set a new world record in 1928 by completing the first non-stop journey between London and Edinburgh along the East Coast Mainline.

She broke a second world record in 1934 by being officially recorded travelling at 100mph. The record was authenticated by the Guinness Book of World Records, resulting in massive media publicity for the locomotive, helping to cement her legendary status.

However, after rail travel in Britain was nationalised in 1948 with the formation of British Railways, the Flying Scotsman wasn't as popular with the new rail chiefs as she was with passengers.

BR felt the old steam locomotive created the wrong impression of the modern service they aimed to provide and in 1962, she was side-lined in a tunnel, to be replaced by a diesel locomotive.

Save our train!

Railway preservationist and entrepreneur Alan Pegler saved the Flying Scotsman, when he supported the pressure group "Save Our Scotsman", who needed funds to purchase the train. Pegler bought her outright and hundreds of fans turned out to see her travel down the tracks again on 15th January 1963, prior to being refurbished.

In 1968, Pegler repeated the Flying Scotsman's non-stop journey from London to Edinburgh on the 40th anniversary of the first trip.

In 1969, she was taken on a publicity tour of America, but unfortunately, Pegler's financial problems led to her being stranded in the States. Construction company director William "Bill" McAlpine, a railway enthusiast, funded the train's return to Britain in 1973.

He sent her on an Australian tour in 1988 and she broke a third world record - the non-stop steam record for travelling 442 miles uninterrupted. She travelled a total of 28,000 miles in 15 months.

Rail turntables

During the steam era, the turntable was launched as an important device at most rail terminals and also at some junctions. Steam trains like the Flying Scotsman operated most effectively when moving forwards, so they had to be turned each time they were required to make a return trip.

The turntable was built near a roundhouse - the semi-circular building used for the storage of steam locomotives. After the first roundhouse was built in 1839 in Derby, the turntable followed soon afterwards. The device would easily spin the locomotive round in the opposite direction.

Early turntables were known as "Armstrong" devices, because a worker had to manually push them in each direction. During the 19th century, many of the turntables were small, so it wasn't a problem operating them manually.

However, as rail equipment grew larger and heavier, more advanced steam trains were constructed, and the demand for train services increased, mechanically-operated turntables were launched.

The turntable was built by digging out a large, circular pit and placing a standard steel span inside. A rail was placed around the edge of the pit and the support span would have wheels attached at each end. In the centre of the pit, the span would be placed on a central anchor hinge.

As the structure became increasingly more sophisticated, an operator's building was constructed at the side of the turntable, where an employee would operate the device through the use of hydraulics.

Today, turntables are vital for the many restored steam trains still used on Britain's rail tracks, particularly on popular tourist routes.

Flying Scotsman today

The Flying Scotsman was bought by the National Railway Museum in 2004, for £2.2 million. Following a full refurbishment, she travels around the UK as a working museum, so new generations of fans can learn about the engineering science behind steam trains, while taking a pleasure ride.

The summer 2018 tour is currently underway and the Scotsman is arriving at stations all over the UK to take passengers on nostalgic trips down the tracks.

The next stop is at the East Lancashire Railway, starting on 24th August, with pleasure rides continuing until 8th September, when she goes on display at East Lancashire Railway until 22nd September. Then, the famous locomotive is off to Crewe, Chester and Holyhead for the next leg of the tour. Telephone 0333 320 2830 for details of how to buy tickets.

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