As many of you are likely to know, the Flying Scotsman is a world famous train, particularly celebrated in Great Britain. The bottle green train has travelled the lines of Britain since 1924 between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley stations. As you can see below, the puffing steam train is hard to miss due to its vivid appearance and many thousands of fans following it along its way!
The Flying Scotsman is currently undergoing work to bring her back to her former glory; she has had quite a long life after all. You can see her in the black and white photograph below when she was in her heyday.
The train was cleverly designed in order to allow drivers and firemen to swap mid-journey. This may seem like a minor advancement now, but by building a corridor leading from the cab to the train the switch over between staff could be faster. This innovation cut the journey time down to just 8 hours. And for 392 miles, that is certainly an accomplishment!
Sadly, she isn’t on the rails at the moment though. As mentioned, the Flying Scotsman is being lovingly restored by experts through the donations of thousands of people around the world. Sir Richard Branson and the lottery fund are also large contributors to the project.
However, step-by-step she is being put back together again. Here you can see her temporarily being reunited with her boiler, just to make sure it fits after extensive repairs. The lovable locomotive is expected to return to the lines in early 2011 as a passenger service.
Fans of the train, and other travellers alike, can take advantage of a great piece of British heritage. In the time being though, fans can find a range of Flying Scotsman memorabilia and miniature models.
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