Flying Scotsman

I've seen quite a few all female crews on the NYMR. Its been happening for sometime. Personally, I don't think anything should be made of it. They are rostered, they crew the engine and do a job equally as good. Quiet respect and admiration and letting them get on with the job I think is far better than making a song and dance about it and in many ways far more respectful.

 

Again, I was speaking purely about Flying Scotsman.

I fully accept your points, however, that it should indeed be about it being service as normal.

 

Scotsman will be visiting Didcot over the August Bank Holiday weekend https://www.facebook.com/DidcotRail...421647218065/1774231629270384/?type=3&theater

 

Hi, not sure if this is the place but I have a flying Scotsman moment.

In 1988 FS came to Australia as part of our bicentennial celebrations (Australia's 200th birthday). She took part in the Aus steam '88 gathering and toured the country where ever standard guage could take her. Much of her tour was double headed with 3801: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_C38_class_locomotive. She came with 3801 to Brisbane which was my home town at the time - I was 13 years old and myself, my father and my older brother got to see her then.

The state of Queensland is 3' 6 1/2" guage apart from a standard guage link to New South Wales that runs into Brisbane's Roma street station. Not being aware at the time that FS was in Brisbane we missed seeing her in action, but we did however get a chance to see her light engine, simmering away quietly in a seldom used depot between her official turns.

There was quite a crowd there and it was full access around short of climbing aboard of course. Photos were taken and a full inspection was undertaken - my older brother who at the time was a far bigger train nerd than me, ( I think I have him covered now!) was doing his best "know it all" impression to any who were in earshot. Older brothers are such d!cks!

I remember being supremely impressed by Scotsman. The size of those driving wheels! The clean lines ( British engines sure are purty!) and that apple green (she was full LNER livery with no deflectors). I had never seen anything like her. My previous experience of steam locomotives was limited to "dead" static, shabby engines in playgrounds of which there were many in the 80's before someone decided it wasn't safe for children to play with rusty, jagged 50 ton lumps of metal and made them disappear. Steam preservation in Queensland at the time was pretty poor - Queensland Rail (QR), maintained a few engines as part of their apprentice training program but that was about it - (Things are much better now thankfully). The biggest driving wheels I'd seen were maybe 4'3" (BB18 1/4 class) and all QR engines look more American than British - all pipe work and lumps and bumps that look like they don't need to be there. You could polish a QR engine for days and it would never look "clean" but Scotsman lined out in that apple green was gleaming.

She was the first engine I'd ever seen in steam (not a bad first hey!) and she remains the only British loco I've seen in the flesh, despite having lived in the UK for a number of years while I chased girls, pints and cricket balls - lots of fun but ultimately a waste of time!

One of those lifetime memories. She was beautiful.

 

Yes,

And in the two days before it was due to run up the North Coast Line with 3801, so many people telephoned the Bureau of Meteorology and individual television stations about the weather at a previously unremarkable place called Border Loop that it was specifically mentioned in weather forecasts for the days that Flying Scotsman was going to traverse said loop.

 

I did think today about how FS and 3801 must have gone round the border loop on their way north. For those unaware, the border loop, so called because it is near the border of New South Wales and Queensland, is a section of track that does a 360 deg loop in order to gain, or loose, height. The loop winds around a hill in a 1 in 66 grade that gains 30 meters (98ft) by the time it crosses itself again. You can find it on wiki. I just did a quick search of the net for footage of FS and 3801 going around the loop but came up with nothing which surprised me as there is a lookout which surveys the whole formation (I went there as a kid and saw a diesel service go round it). I guess not every one had a smart phone in 1988!

 

My friend was offered the chance to go with scotsman at the time and he regrets it still.

 

I first saw 4472 in the depot at Marylebone (with 4498) - friendly staff allowed a young tourist in to see them both.
My next encounter was when it was coming to my home city - Brisbane.
We went down to meet it at Kyogle and chased it all the way to Brisbane.

The arrival at Roma St station was very majestic - FS travelling at walking pace along the platform with camera flashes going off everywhere. A real moment to remember.
We went on the trip behind 4472 & 3801 to Casino which went through the border loop and had solo haulage behind FS for part of the way including photo run pasts. Fantastic day.
When FS headed back south again, there was a double headed train running beside it on the 3'6". 4 locos in steam.
Saw FS again last year at the SVR. Nice to catch up again.


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Drone warning to enthusiasts over Flying Scotsman visit. <BJ>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39896509
Steam enthusiasts have been warned of the dangers of trespassing on railway lines or using drones as the Flying Scotsman prepares to visit Scotland. The iconic steam locomotive will arrive at Edinburgh Waverley late on Saturday ahead of a tour of Fife.
Police and transport officials said drone use was not permitted within 50m of the line and onlookers should stay well away from the tracks.
This will be the engine's second visit to Scotland since its restoration.
The Flying Scotsman, which is based at the National Railway Museum in York, made its first post-restoration visit to Scotland a year ago.
Hundreds of enthusiasts lined the route and were later praised for their responsible behaviour.
The engine's inaugural run in northern England in February last year, however, was marred when some fans put themselves in danger.
Network Rail had to pay out almost £60,000 in compensation when 59 train services were delayed by people encroaching on to the track.
Additional staff will be deployed at key stations and along the engine's route for the locomotive's latest visit to Scotland.
The Network Rail helicopter will be scanning for trespassers ahead of the Flying Scotsman's arrival.
Alex Sharkey, head of operations for the ScotRail Alliance, said: "It is extremely dangerous and illegal for the public to trespass on the railway and those who plan to enjoy seeing Flying Scotsman must ensure they do so from a safe position.
"We will continue to operate a full service, with hundreds of other trains running on our lines throughout the time Flying Scotsman is in Scotland, and members of the public must not enter the operational railway under any circumstances."
Ch Insp Sue Maxwell, from British Transport Police, said anyone caught trespassing on a railway could end up with a criminal record and a fine of up to £1,000. She added: "We understand that the return of Flying Scotsman is an exciting event. However, we want you to view the iconic steam train safely, and there are lots of safe places to see it and take photographs.
"Please do not be tempted to stray on to the railway and risk your safety. Trespassing is also likely to delay the train. Stations along the route may be extremely busy, so listen to the staff who are there to assist you."
The Flying Scotsman was the first steam engine officially authenticated at travelling at 100mph in November 1934 though it had been claimed that another engine, City of Truro, travelled at 102mph in 1904. There was no second timekeeper on the earlier run and the record has long been disputed.

 

When I was travelling behind 60103 at the Bluebell last month there were four drones flying above the train at one point.

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Question is; Were any brought down by the train/Scotsman? I only ask as last year when 'Scotsman was at the NYMR it was a case of 'Scotsman/train 1 Drone 0. Though from memory I think it could have been an own goal as the drone hit/caught a branch of a tree before crashing down on the last coach of 'Scotsmans' train.

 

Not that I know of. I thought the Bluebell had issued warnings about using drones near the railway. Clearly some people can't read.

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There were quite a few people using them when I travelled behind Scotsman at the Bluebell as well.

 

Arrival in Brisbane Roma Street station was on (Easter) Monday 27th March 1989.
Being fortunate to be part of the UK support crew at the time I seem to recall we were based at Yeerongpilly Depot (about 8Km south of Brisbane). One evening I was on the tender helping coaling for it's next trip and, in the dark, an electrical storm let rip. It was the first time I had seen sheet lightning - seemingly all around us - and being one of the highest 'objects' around I soon descended to ground level and safety!

4472 and QR loco parallel running started at South Brisbane, I believe, but cannot now remember where that stopped and the respective lines diverged. There was no banning of window hanging then:

There were only a few UK crew members who could visit Australia so much credit goes to Aussie enthusiasts who helped out us Poms as well as the friends from the 3801 crew.
I hope 3801 gets back in steam after all it's restoration woes.

 

The journey from Sydney to Brisbane was very wet with lots of flooding seen as we travelled through NSW.
In fact there was so much humidity that my wet clothes were not drying and I wondered if they'd rot before I could wash and dry them. Fortunately they remained intact.
Despite that - very happy memories, a wonderful experience Down Under and a friendly reception wherever we went. (Lovely meals in the RSL - The Returned and Services League - Clubs we were invited to in numerous towns and cities).

 

That is a hell of a lot of wheel-slip from 4472 there...! Slippery rails no doubt, but by comparison 3801 doesn't slip once in that video.

 

Hi Peter, thanks for that. And thanks for your part in my childhood memories!

Funny story. I rang my father to see if he had any photos of that day and he was kind of blank about the whole thing. I thought the silly old bloke is losing his marbles. Anyway, that night I got a message on my phone from my sister and 7 or 8 pictures came through. Somehow she has ended up with them. The funny bit is, that it seems my dad was not there at all it was my mother - my memory was the one that was way off!

So, from my pictures, FS and 3801 with train attached, (I got that wrong too!), were at Yeerongpilly depot as you say. That depot is now no longer. There is now some sort of rail manufacturing/loading plant where the sidings were. I think the standard guage may go through to the port of Brisbane now (happy to be corrected), so the depot must have moved elsewhere.

I only remember FS and have no recollection of 3801 being there despite 3 or 4 photos of me clearly beside and in her - perhaps I was star struck by Scotsman! It was Mother's Day here on Saturday when my sister sent me the photos. There is one photo taken of my myself and my mother looking out of the cab window of 3801. My mother is no longer with us so that was nice to see.

When I get hold of the pictures in a format I can use I'll put them up.

The RSL scene is still alive and well!

FS certainly is a celebrity. I showed my wife (not a train enthusiast by any definition), the old pictures of me from that day. One pic of 13 year old me standing below the name plate on the splasher and she says,

"Oh, Flying Scotsman, so that's where it all started."

I queried her if she had heard of it...

"Yeah, of coarse". (Like I was some sort of idiot!)

Another frontal pic of FS she described as "magnificent". I'm still in shock...


Thanks again Peter.

 

Flying Scotsman on the Cathedrals Express at Stockber on the S&C .

 

The railway has a drones policy which allows their use in very restricted circumstances, which is compliant with CAA guidance and I suspect is very similar to the policy operated by other heritage railways.

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/safety/drones.html

Personally, I didn't see any in my time on her; however, I did notice one very prominently tracking the loco captured by a different photographer in a YouTube video I saw, so they must have been around. Maybe Scotsman doesn't need a diesel on the back, but one of these



(Source: https://twitter.com/mrtimdunn/status/623152774692388864)

Tom

 

Big wheels 4472 Martin 3801 small wheels The NRM should put back the longest none stop run plate in img 003. jpg and BUZBY2 Remember this not long back from Australia. FISH7373 81C NFP