Flying Scotsman

Caption competition time!
How about "Aye, see that? That's the Flying Scotsman, that is. My Grandad used to drive that when it broke world speed record of 155mph in 1890"

Richard.

 

I thought that was Cornwall that did that? Well according to Steam Railway anyhows.

 

The Locomotive was 100 on Monday Happy Birthday E1472!!!!

 

1472N, to be precise. She was then 1472, 4472, 502, 103, E103, 60103 in that order. Preservation she’s been all except 1472, 1472N and E103.

 

I remember her in black at the NRM with different numbers on either side of the cab.

To be 1472N again that would involve a *lot* of work - and I doubt it'd fit anywhere after that except the Nene Valley... (unless there's another Berne Gauge railway in the UK?)

 

Just a heads up that I have received. You can watch no.4472 in the 1929 film "The Flying Scotsman" on Sky channel 328 tomorrow afternoon (around 3pm I believe).

A rare opportunity to see the film - I've never seen it so I am recording it whilst I am at work tomorrow.

 

Don't forget 98872...... ;-)

 

It's on Talking Pictures TV, the channel number of which varies according to platform but it's from 15:10 to 16:25, with a ten minute preamble by Melvyn Hayes at 15:00.

 

Thanks for the tip. I’m really enjoying this film! A slice of social history as well as some nice shots of 4472.

Could do without all the funeral scheme ads in the breaks mind.

 

I see the film has stuck to the hard drive (I should have recorded it on a VHS tape really - I still might!) so that's one for the weekend. Thinking back to the numbers FS has carried, I'm assuming that 1472N would have been in L&NER livery, the ampersand being quite important? I believe it never ran in GNR livery unlike 1470 and 1471.

 

That is correct, it was the first L.N.E.R. built locomotive.

 

I think a couple of A5s beat it out the door. 5003, 5006.
However their livery was an odd mix of GCR green and red with L&NER lettering. They were LNER gauged with new cab windows iirc

 

Watched the film tonight; very 'light' entertainment but I noticed where it was filmed - what's now Elstree Film Studios, home to such films as Star Wars and The Shining.

It did seem very odd seeing 4472 as a RHD A1!

 

A couple of anecdotes from 60103's appearance at the East Lancs last weekend, which I thought were worth sharing.

1. A local lady, overheard muttering to herself outside Bolton Street station, while everyone else was scrambling to poke their cameras over the bridge parapet (60103 was taking water down below): "I can't understand why everyone's so fascinated with that b****y train!"

2. Two more local ladies, whom I overheard talking to each other at Burrs, asking when Lady of Legend would be coming through. I broke the news to them that 2999 had failed and wasn't running that day - "hence", I explained, "why the train just now had that smelly diesel on the front". (Admittedly, I was a little unkind about the ELR's class 33!)

"Oh", replies one of the ladies, "I thought that was more spectacular than Flying Scotsman, to be honest..."

Make of that what you will!

 

I realise that I should know this but is FS capable of hauling air braked trains? Was discussing it with a friend and neither of us knew the answer.

 

Not as originally constructed, but in its current guise, yes.

(Photo below - not mine, comes from the NRM. You can see the air pipes below the right-hand buffer).



Tom

 

Many thanks Tom, I had looked at some of my images from its Swanage visit last year but missed those.

 

They’ve converted the engine to air braking which in my opinion is wrong, it takes away from the original.

 

I would be interested John as to hear why that takes away from "the original".

 

The original was vac braked (engine and tender), all that’s been kept is the ejector so it can work vacuum braked trains. It’s only a personal view but if it does end up just doing the rounds of heritage railways it would only need the additional equipment to be removed