Why is Flying Scotsman so famous?

Happy 100th birthday, Flying Scotsman!

[@egpx]

Round about 1970, a young lad from Huddersfield was so in awe of the Flying Scotsman he saved his pocket money for many, many weeks. Eventually he saved enough to buy the Hornby Flying Scotsman for his OO scale model railway. It became his pride and joy, even though it never really worked that well. It cost him five pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence, an eyewatering sum for a nine year old. A few years later the same lad felt model trains weren't that cool any more and sold his entire collection, including that Flying Scotsman, for twenty quid. What a silly sod I was.

[@Mounhas]

I did precisely the same, bet we weren’t the only two!

[@egpx]

@@Mounhas I was dead proud, not just to have the model but also that I’d saved up for it.

[@egpx]

@@navelriver I’m sure it’s a lot more expensive than £5 12/6 now!

[@Zeppflyer]

On our honeymoon a few years ago, my wife and I (from the States) stopped by the facility that her company ran at the Doncaster Works. We were shown around by a pleasant old duffer who rhapsodized about the time that he'd gotten to ride on the Scotsman's footplate. A great time indeed.

[@grangetowncardiff6935]

I hope "the pleasant old duffer" appreciated your arrogance. Pip Pip.

[@phaasch]

Loved this production, Jago, particularly the central question. It's a classic example of celebrity being its own progenitor. A few years back, my dear wife insisted that I take her to see the locomotive when it visited the Bluebell. This I duly did, and she was thrilled, simply because her mother once told her that when she was home on holiday from school in Switzerland, would travel home to Edinburgh on "The Flying Scotsman". I didn't have the heart to spoil the fairytale, and never would dream of it

[@iankemp1131]

Although her mother was technically right - it would have been the Flying Scotsman named express, 10 am from Kings Cross, even if not hauled by its namesake engine. The confusion between them helps increase the engine's fame. I travelled on the train in 1968, behind a Deltic of course. My dad nearly got left behind at Newcastle (the only stop) when he nipped up front to photo the engine!

[@phaasch]

@@iankemp1131 That's what I meant, and why I didn't want to spoil the "fairytale".

[@iankemp1131]

@@phaasch Yes, sorry for the unnecessary clarification. When volunteering at Swanage in October I encountered a sprightly old Scots lady who really wanted to see FS depart as she had travelled on it regularly when younger between Edinburgh and London. I think she had the same confusion, but it made her day :)

[@johncassels3475]

As a long time supporter of the Ffestiniog railway, it is always nice to hear of the wider exploits of Ffestiniog heroes Pegler, McAlpine and Waterman. Great video. thanks very much.

[@paintinginmykitchen5152]

"It's famous because it's famous" Flying Scotsman is a certified locomotive influencer

[@brucewilliams8714]

During her stay in Australia we rode behind her in Victoria, and on the Friday evenings when she led an excursion train to a nearby winery, for dinner, we drove down to the Seymour depot where she was being serviced, during the dinner break. The crew were marvellous and let us steam fans onto the footplate, giving us great information while they worked. When her train passengers had returned, the train left for Melbourne. Related: Alan Pegler. While in Britain in January, 1984, on a daytrip special from London to Porthmadoc via Blaenau Ffestiniog, by chance Alan Pegler picked up my Australian accent, and invited me into the Pullman car he and his FR colleague were travelling in. Their accounts of the struggles to preserve the Ffestiniog Railway were vivid and moving. Thanks so much, Jago, for reviving these memories.

[@HowManySmall]

HOW DID THEY MOVE IT THERE WTF

[@brucewilliams8714]

@@HowManySmall As deck cargo on a freight ship to Sydney, and thereafter on the standard gauge track to Melbourne. Later, FS ran across the continent to Perth.

[@roberthuron9160]

Years ago,I encountered,"Flying Scotsman",in Toronto,at the CNE,and got onto its footplate!Talk about a cramped quarter,wow! Having read about British Clearances,you really can't comprehend the smallness of the cabs,until you're in it! US and Canadian locomotives are gigantic in comparison,just on the overhead clearance! Anyway,Jago,it's so great that,"Flying Scotsman",is still alive and well,long after her classmates have gone to locomotive heaven! Happy 100th,to one of Sir Nigel's best!! Thanks again 👍! 👍!!

[@baxtermarrison5361]

I do like the locomotive in its BR Brunswick Green livery and with the smoke detectors. As a Doncaster lad I do have a soft spot for the work of Sir Nigel.

[@barneypaws4883]

Great vid Jago. Flying Scotsman and Mallard surely have to be the most famous steam engines in the world. Nigel Gresley certainly knew what he was doing. The man deserves his recognition

[@TheRip72]

Rocket is more famous than either. We all learned about the Rainhill trials at school.

[@barneypaws4883]

​@@TheRip72 Rocket certainly has more historical importance but I don't know if it is known worldwide as Flying Scotsman or Mallard are. Maybe I'm wrong. There is also the steam engine build by Richard Trevithick, the world's first moving steam engine sadly not many know about.

[@JRS06]

Happy 100th Flying Scotsman. Cheers to a centruy worth of uniting families, generations and railfans alike.

[@pdxyadayada]

Nice presentation! I like it when you provide old photos with your history lessons…keep up the good work..

[@LorraineDexter]

Hi. My Dad worked in a large rail repair shed in Leicester. He once did work on the Scotsman. This would have been in the mid to late 50's. Once early one morning he took me to the works and I got to travel on the footplate from the shed to Leicester London Road station (eat your heart out health and safety!!!) Happy memories!

[@whyyoulidl]

If that's the Leicester station on the old Midland line, it may have traversed the route to Hitchin and KGX beyond; that'll be around the time my old man done it's shunting 🚂

[@thomasburke2683]

Hi Lorraine, A large rail repair shed in Leicester? Would that be the Midland or the former Great Central? Even though the the railways had been nationalised, they were still clannish. It's hard to imagine the North Eastern region allowing the LM region interfere with one of their locos. They wouldn't trust anyone else. Of course if it was the Great Central, that would be ok, the GC having been absorbed into the LNER in 1923, but I don't know what facilities the GC had in Leicester. Nowadays, in the preservation era, the Great Central has its workshops eight miles north in Loughborough. Long may it thrive.

[@rayfisher3921]

Sounds to me your dad probably worked at the ex-Great Central running shed at Leicester. The shed was relatively small, I'm afraid, and did not have a separate maintenance shed for heavier repairs. It probably had sheer legs for lifting one end of locos to deal with some repairs, but these would be in the open air, as they were at many sheds and was standard practice on the Great Central. Anyway, some A3 Pacifics did run on the Great Central line, including Flying Scotsman itself, which was based at Leicester from June 1950 to November 1953. So I'm wondering if you've got the right station in your memories?

[@chris8405]

Yes, Scotsman did indeed run on the Great Central Line from Marylebone through Leicester at times during the 1950s, so your memory is spot-on. Ironically my first journey on the A3 was in 1986 from Marylebone rather than Kings Cross.

[@PeterGaunt]

I've seen this engine and train go under a bridge which is a pleasant 15 minute's walk from where I live in London. Wonderful sight. one day I hope to travel on it. I'm old enough to remember going by steam train to see a musical movie in Manchester and later travelling on a school trip to the Lake District in a train hauled by two engines over Shap Fell. Magic times!

[@KaitlynnUK]

In 1969, when I was very young, my Dad (an ex LMS employee) took me to see the Scotsman at some depot in Birmingham sometime before she left for the USA, I believe she may have been on some sort of farewell tour. A Fireman or the Driver beckoned to my dad to pass me up to them, so I ended up standing on her footplate. I don't remember too much more about it, however, it sparked this girls lifelong interest in trains.

[@MorrisHillmanProductions]

That's a lovely memory.

[@dad675]

I think I was about 14 or 15 when FS was driven along the South Coast line past Ferring where we lived. The signalman at the level crossing slowed it down -held the signal- so Dad and I could capture an 8mm movie of it. Happy days. That movie is now preserved onto DVD. No sound, of course.

[@RCassinello]

Many years ago, I had a copy of the sales receipt issued to Alan Peglar. Peglar didn't just buy Scotsman from BR and get some volunteer ramshackle grease monkeys to perform the restoration. Oh no. Peglar PAID BR to restore the engine to original condition as part of the conditions of sale. He basically said "I'll buy this off you, but you have to put right all the alterations you made to it!" Boss move.

[@norbitonflyer5625]

He also got the right to run it on BR, and held them to that when BR banned all other steam traction from 1968

[@RCassinello]

@@norbitonflyer5625 Yes, exactly! It wasn't just "I'm buying this engine"... It was "I'm buying this engine in original conditional and running it on YOUR track whenever I say so." It was a flipping amazing contract. You'd never get anything like it now. But yes... Not only did BR have to restore it to original condition, they had to let it run on their track well beyond the general steam ban.

[@iankemp1131]

@@RCassinello Which helped it to become even better known, notably when it recreated the non-stop run from London to Edinburgh in 1968 and the BBC made a documentary about it. The scene that sticks in my mind for some reason is a long shot of it running over Durham viaduct with Dag Wiren's "Serenade for Strings" as background music.

[@whyyoulidl]

​@@iankemp1131 👍🏿

[@simongleaden2864]

I work for Alan Pegler's old company, then known as The Northern Rubber Company. When he sold his shares he spent part of the proceeds on the Flying Scotsman. These days our business is mainly in aerospace, including air-to-air refuelling hoses. We're still on the same site as when Pegler's grandfather or great-grandfather founded the business in 1871.

[@schwadevivre4158]

Another reason why it became famous. A Flying Scotsman express was highlighted in Hitchcock's 1935 version of "The 39 Steps" (although the engine used was LMS Ivatt Class 2)

[@cr10001]

An Ivatt 2-6-0? They were sparing no expense, obviously. How on earth would a scrawny little engine like that double for a top-link express engine? Wrong in every possible way, they could hardly have got it wronger if they tried. [rant on the many crimes of film-makers omitted]

[@rayfisher3921]

No it wasn't. The Ivatt cl 2s didn't appear until 1946. One built in 1950 was used in the 1978 version. The Hitchcock film showed Gresley A1 2595 Trigo (same class as Flying Scotsman) leaving Kings Cross. It also showed a Great Western King leaving a tunnel on what was supposed to be on the Edinburgh route.

[@schwadevivre4158]

@@rayfisher3921 Thanks for the correction. IMDB got it wrong, I should have checked

[@rayfisher3921]

@@schwadevivre4158 "Don't believe everything you read on the internet" - George Washington

[@ThatScottishAtlantic57]

Great Video Jago. Wonderful way to celebrate the 100th B-Day of Gresley's Finest Thoroughbred 👍

[@paulgilbert9346]

Happy Birthday old lady! Thanks Jago for yet another great video.

[@jennyd255]

Lovely retrospective piece. I have to confess though that I am fonder of Mallard... Also OVS Bullied's Tangmere, and dare I say it the Arthur Peppercorn inspired Tornado - even though the latter is strictly speaking a modern re-creation of an A1 (Actually with all the latter day tech improvements in that it probably should be strictly considered as a sort of A1.5 rather than an A1😉)

[@norbitonflyer5625]

The LNER had two different Class A1 designs. After the original A1s had all been converted to A3s, the designation was re-used for the Peppercorn design in the late 1940s

[@hairyairey]

A1.001 for techie types!

[@iandixon2201]

Its only just occurred to me that Mallard No 4468 had a lower number than Flying Scotsman 4472, despite being built later.

[@hairyairey]

@@iandixon2201 yes, that's odd. Probably one was built faster?

[@AmogusInMyWalls]

​@@iandixon2201the LNER's numbering was all over the place. Flying Scotsman was originally ordered by the Great Northern, being numbered 1472 as mentioned in the video, which followed nicely after the first two 1470 'Great Northern' and 1471 'Sir Frederick Banbury'. The LNER initially added 3000 to their number, making Scotsman 4472. However as I said the numbering of their locomotives was all over the place. Their were consecutive until 4481 'St Simon', but the engine that came after it was 2543, not 4482. From there they were consecutive again until 2582 'Sir Hugo', which was followed by 2743 'Felstead'. After 2752 they went back to 25xx numbers with 2595 'Trigo', going until 2599. After 2599 came 2795 - 2797, and the final examples were numbered 2500-2508. The gaps were filled by other classes including the A4s of which 4468 'Mallard' was one. The A4s were mostly numbered in the 44xx series, filling in gaps in the A1/A3, but not in sequence. For example, 4482 was not an A1 like 4481 before it, but an A4. The A4 before it was numbered 2512, and 4482 was in fact older than 4468. The LNER did later try to make the numbers more logical. Scotsman became number 103 (hence its BR number 60103, as BR added 60000 to existing LNER numbers on nationalisation). It was initially going to be 503 but that was afaik never applied. Strangely enough tho the new numbers were again not sequential, with 4481 becoming 112 and the next locomotive 2543 becoming 44. Mallard became 22 under the new system and as such was numbered 60022 under BR. As I said the LNER just made a mess of numbers much like its constituents had done before it (especially the GER and NER), and as such numbers on LNER engines really aren't indicative of age or class.

[@Andrewjg_89]

The Flying Scotsman is a masterpiece in how it was built and how it was made to run long distance rail journeys in the UK. Such a iconic steam locomotive that will never die and will continue to live on forever.

[@norbitonflyer5625]

It was built the same way all steam locomotives were built. And there were over 100 Gresley Pacifics - 78 of them A3s - all of them just as capable as No 4472. It briefly held the British (not world) speed record, but so did "Papyrus" and "Coronation"

[@SmallBlogV8]

I have warm feelings towards the Flying Scotsman because it was my childhood Hornby Railway set. Once there became nowhere in the house to lay out a big wooden board with a train set on it, the locomotive became a display on a single piece of track on our dining room shelf... and it still is! So I see it every day.

[@misterthegeoff9767]

When I was a kid the Flying Scotsman came down the commuter rail line that ran along the back of my school's playing fields one day. Let's just say that lessons were disrupted by 600 odd kids who would have sworn they were too cool to be train spotters pressing their faces against the classroom windows.

[@davidellis1355]

I remember a story that they needed an engine for a trade show and the Flying Scotsman was broken at the time - I was on the footplate when it visited Yeovil Junction around the year 2000, while it was on the turntable, good memories.

[@thestargateking]

The tour in Australia is even more remarkible as all of the states in Australia use a different railway gauge but works on creating a standard gauge interstate network had only allowed cross country trips to become possible 18 years before the Flying scotsmans came to Australia meaning it was one of if not the first steam locomotive to be able to undertake such a large journey as during the main age of steam once you reached a state boarder there was a good chance your steam locomotive would terminate and you'd have to swap. also the australia trip saw the scotsman often run with a NSW locomotive behind it and when it visited Victoria and Queensland it was greated by the steam locomotives of those states as well that were also preserved

[@OofusTwillip]

An entire episode of the series "Full Steam Ahead" (with Ruth Goodman, Peter Ginn, and Alex Langlands) is devoted to the history of the Flying Scotsman, and the team not only takes a journey aboard the train, but fully explores all the nooks and crannies of the locomotive. The tender's corridor is a very narrow passage---definitely not for the pudgy or claustrophobic.

[@tonys1636]

Footplate crews were never pudgy too much hard work despite all of the breakfast butties fried on the shovel in the firebox.

[@johnclarke2997]

@@tonys1636 Yes. Want to get fit, become a fireman on a steam loco.

[@neilbain8736]

WOW. What a history. There's something misty eye inducing about her even though I prefer GWR green. I pushed one of her spare set of tender wheels about the shed on the SVR, but only because I could and they were hers and the coefficient of friction, μ, is a wonderful thing. They were heavy.

[@thomasgray4188]

my favourite will always be the great Western castles like 5043. but flying Scotsman will always hold a special place for me it's the engine I can talk to family and friends about it's certainly a great ambassador for the railways not unlike the Japanese shinkansen for modern intercity travel or the London underground map for urban rail travel.

[@nilo70]

Well Done , that Jago ! Cheers from California 😊

[@scottc1589]

I've always had my own, very personal reason for liking an engine with "Scot" in its name. Thanks for such a stellar centennial anniversary observing video on a namesake!

[@moogmike1]

Having a father who was working on the G.W.R. I naturally had an affection for Great Wester locomotives, but I have to say Gresleys A1/A3s were beautiful locomotives. Great video as ALWAYS Jago....thank you.

[@zork999]

But I will take a Castle or Saint any day over an A1 or A4.

[@moogmike1]

@@zork999 All G.W.R. locomotives were beautiful but they did become behind the time of the decades with the Edwardian fittings of brass and copper. And though it pains me to say so, the Southern, L.M.S., and L.N.E.R. were progressive in their design using streamlining, the G.W.R. remained firmly stuck in the 1900s.

[@thomasburke2683]

Gresley came from the GWR in Swindon, so the A1 and A3 locos are really of GWR parentage. (On second thought, perhaps I am thinking of Stanier?)

[@zork999]

@@moogmike1 Oh sure, if you want to actually USE the things, but that lovely green with brass and copper? Can't be beat! ;) Plus I just like the look of the 4-6-0. Sure there were certain hills on the mainline that they struggled on with a full train, but they looked great! ;)

[@JohnRowsell]

@@thomasburke2683 No! Gresley did his apprenticeship at Crewe and then moved to the Lancashire and Yorkshire before becoming CME at Doncaster. It was William Stanier who came from the Great Western.

[@highpath4776]

I think you may need to explain the phrase "Top Link" to some viewers some day - a term I did not really understand until I read some of the Midland Shed based driver/fireman memories then I got the understanding which was more easy for me as I come from a background of driver scheduling for bus services.

[@mgutkowski]

Really lovely video, thanks. My favourite little story attached to this loco is captured in the two photos taken 90 years apart of Flying Scotsman and its little sister, RH&DR's Typhoon. Just a couple of Google clicks away 😉

[@PokhrajRoy.]

The Flying Scotsman is the Mona Lisa of Trains.

[@PeterAJWoods]

Never got my head round its popularity but you explain succinctly. Simpley 'exposure' in the media and perhaps that name conjouring up a speedy journy to Scotland.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I agree. I prefer City of Truro - its original exploit and its several overhauls for main line running. She was always a fast engine.

[@cr10001]

Not only 'exposure'. Until the A4's came along, the A3's were arguably the fastest locos in the country (certainly among the top two or three classes), which made them among the fastest in the world at the time, and they looked the part - sleek and powerful. Personally, I think they were the best-looking of any.

[@PeterAJWoods]

@@cr10001 I agree on one point simply it's a personal thing. I have my own and that's the Princess class. Just does the job without fuss and looks great. I rember them at Kings Langley area and thinking the same then even though we biked it to Hatfield for the LNER as well. Prefered the A4 pacifics anyway. Yes, 'Streak' was the shout with great excitement.

[@AmogusInMyWalls]

​@@cr10001They were really fast, A3 2750 still holds the record for fastest non-streamlined steam locomotive.

[@Mike-James]

When it came back from America, it was sent to Doncaster for some work and I was a freight guard that happened to be near, so being curious I climbed onto the footplate. It still had the bell and cowcatcher on and the paint was gone from the righthand side due to it being shipped over on the deck of the ship.

[@Rog5446]

A few years ago, I went for a Saturday morning run, which took me across a bridge on the GWR. There were three chaps with cameras looking down the line, so I asked if something special was coming. Oh yes they said, the Flying Scotsman was on test after an overhaul and due past any moment. Two minutes later it came past in grey primer and two on and that was the first time I saw it in motion. The first and only other time I saw it was resting at Top Shed (Kings Cross MPD) when it was in revenue earning service.

[@Clavichordist]

I saw the Flying Scotsman in Boston at the beginning of its American tour. I was 8 at the time and my dad took me into the city to see it. We took the local commuter rail and subway to South Station and there it was.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

I went to New York's Penn station in 1969 when it came there on the Pegler trip. I went into the cab and sat in the fireman's seat while a guy showed us how it all worked. I still have the commorative print of the loco as well as one of the Clun Castle. A man I spoke to said how the entire train was almost lost at sea as it was deck cargo on a freighter and was caught in a storm. I was at the NRM York in 2004 and it was there for a retubing and other major work. I mentioned to a man there how I was told about the storm. He said that it might have been the one to tell me because he was on that trip.

[@loddude5706]

These machines amaze me, - watching connecting rods that are the weight of a family car, whirling around in a blur as that much mass hurtles past, is . . . frankly terrifying, the physics are completely bonkers! However, a hundred years on & it still goes like the clappers, nice one Nigel, respect : )

[@Titan604]

Bit of an exaggeration, I can lift one end of a conrod (just) I can't lift one end of a family car...

[@loddude5706]

@@Titan604 - Your family's too big! Weight for weight, the steel in a small family car? : )

[@iankemp1131]

Yes, a truly iconic engine, especially sharing its name with the iconic express service. Railtours sell out twice as fast when FS heads them, even at higher prices, and heritage railway visitors boom (as I saw myself on FS's return from overhaul at Swanage in October 2022). A double world record holder is not bad, and in the 60s and 70s it was the only steam engine running on the BR main line. It featured in a BBC documentary in 1968 when it recreated the non-stop London to Edinburgh run for its 40th anniversary. When BR dipped its to in the water round 1980 and tentatively reintroduced its own steam special, the Yorkshire Circular (York-Leeds-Harrogate-Knaresborough-York), Flying Scotsman hauled it, and I travelled behind it. Having visited both America and Australia, it's probably the most widely travelled steam locomotive ever, though I'm not sure that technically it has been "round the world" as is sometimes stated.

[@rwm2986]

Thanks Jago. I wonder how many little boys (of all ages) went to Kings Cross to travel on 'The Flying Scotsman' (train) hoping that the motive power would be the namesake locomotive.

[@StevensPaul]

Got loads of memorabilia from the Scotsman when it was here in the US. Living down the street from the Northeast Corridor (where a shot in this video was taken...)I was able to see it as it was on it's way to New York and back again. I've got lots of old Ticket stubs and other stuff that I was given to me over the years. I even saw it at Fisherman's Warf in California several months later. I wonder what Yerkes would have thought about it? Being the promoter he was........🇺🇸🇬🇧....

[@johnmurray8428]

Poor old Yerkeys, he never far from this channel. Thank you gave me a smile!😊

[@ZGryphon]

@@johnmurray8428 I heard him casually name-dropped in an audiobook about US history in the Gilded Age (Richard White's _The Republic for Which It Stands,_ for the record), in the phase of his life when he was a streetcar tycoon in Chicago, and it was like hearing an old friend unexpectedly mentioned in a random conversation. :)

[@ryanm.191]

This and a Eurostar were my first hornby sets when I was barely 8 years old. It will always hold a golden spot in my heart

[@cr10001]

It's a fortunate circumstance that Flying Scotsman (and the A3's in general) are among the most elegant 'big engines' ever built in Britain. Gresley had an eye for the appearance of all his engines and the A3's were among the best.

[@robertfletcher3421]

That was an especially great episode thank you Jago.

[@erik_griswold]

I look forward to Jago’s series of videos on the dark truths of Thomas the Tank Engine.

[@TheFrogfather1]

I was at Waverley this morning to see her having decoded the cryptic RTT entry which said 'empty coaching stock'. Not a huge crowd, but the inevitable piper and someone playing the accordion.

[@timbenson2051]

I rode on this train in Chicago when it was on it's US tour in the early 70's. I was 6 or 7 years old. It has remained my favorite Steam engine to this day.

[@brettpalfrey4665]

Gresley's A1 were nice..but his A4 class were awesome!!!! Stil a dyed in the wool Southern man here, so the Bulleid Pacifics were the best...yes i am biased...but still a good video, Jago!

[@cr10001]

And we all know who Bulleid was assistant to. :) I'm Southern too, while I think the Bulleid Pacifics are magnificent engines, I reckon Gresleys were slightly more elegant looking. It's rather tragic the LNER was so far from Barry, so few Gresleys survived.

[@andrewmarch7891]

Very many thanks good reliable info as usual. Brilliant!

[@asheland_numismatics]

Best tube channel EVER!

[@highvoltageswitcher6256]

2nd🥈

[@user-ol2mr4bx7c]

The quality is just upper tier

[@roderickmain9697]

I preferred it (and had the model) when it was in the LNER apple green and no smoke deflectors. Seemed more classy. For some reason I cant put my finger on, the BR colours and smoke deflectors make it look tired and out of date. (like steam locomotives could be up-to-date). I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new P2 - Prince of Wales. That makes you think how much weve lost when steam engines were turned out several a year and now it takes several years to turn one out. Nostalgia?! Perhaps that is Flying Scotsman's best legacy. It was of its age and it lives on because of nostalgia.

[@andyscorgie9713]

Excellent Jago easily one of your best👍👍😎

[@capiberra4118]

Thanks for the summary. Saw the Flying Scotsman go past our suburban West Island Montreal neighbourhood one evening in my youth. Dad knew she was due to go past and one evening at supper heard a steam whistle in the distance. Supper was abandoned as he bundled us into the car and raced towards the nearest piece of track. Don’t recall too much about the engine but the event is etched in my childhood memories even now as I approach 70 yrs old.

[@MrGreatplum]

Great video, Jago - the Gresley A1 / A3 locos are a thing of beauty!

[@deansiracusa3966]

I saw Flying Scotsman in San Francisco when I was a kid, and still have the photo of me next to it! I’m so glad that it’s been saved!

[@seanbonella]

Great video Jago, as always. happy 100 Flying Scotsman

[@sporkafife]

The amazing story of the Flying Scotsman's ill-fated American tour is worth a video all by itself!

[@chris8405]

I think there actually is a video, probably on KZbin somewhere.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Jago the Hazzardous Train Nerd is back with a speedy tale from the railways.

[@paulfarthing2807]

I was 13 or 14 and living in Canada at the time when she visited Montreal, and was parked on a somewhat out of the way suburban siding. Since returning to the UK I have seen her on other occasions.

[@pmorris1940]

The rough American equivalent was the 2oth Century Limited, which ran from Grand Central in New York to LaSalle Street, Chicago, from 1902 to 1967. The New York Central did a lot of hyping. They called it the "the Most Famous Train in the World",. They also had a red carpet for people boarding. The train was fairly fast. Near the end of its life, it was doing the 960 mile trip in under 16 hours.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

And they never saved one of Dreyfus's Hudsons.

[@roderickjoyce6716]

@@lawrencelewis2592 Somebody could build one. It would be too big to run in the UK, so the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust wouldn't be interested, but what about the T1 Trust in the USA?

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@roderickjoyce6716 I think they have thier hands full building the T1. Maybe when it's finished?

[@Evemeister12]

The flying Scotsman pub was even more memorable

[@JagoHazzard]

One hears such stories.

[@highpath4776]

@@JagoHazzard perfectly innocent when I called in there once.

[@Evemeister12]

​@@highpath4776 sorry to hear that

[@andrewduffin9216]

I saw it as a young child of around 4 or 5 in Brisbane, Australia. I remember as a child how enormous the driving wheels were.

[@robinforrest7680]

I caught the virus in 1969 at Tyseley when my dad took me to see 4472. I was 5, and was invited on to the footplate. That’s probably why I work for SNCF today. Happy birthday Scotsman ❤ Edit: come to think of it, that must have been just before « he » left the UK for his USA 🇺🇸 tour?

[@tonythumper-rt1uf]

Thanks Jago. I’ve often thought it was only me that questioned the reason for the fame of the Flying Scotsman. As a young trainspotter in the late 50s/early 60s to us it was just another A3. It was the A4s we wanted to see (and I still do). We wanted to see the Flying Scotsman train because this would always have a smartly turned out A4 (or streak as we knew them) on the front.

[@BrokenCurtain]

I didn't know steam locomotives could pick up water with a scoop so they didn't have to stop. That's brilliant.

[@rayfisher3921]

Only some engines had them. For instance the Southern Railway had none at all, though their longest main line went from Waterloo to Plymouth. And water troughs weren't so successful on hills. The only place where troughs could go on the London & North Western's route across the Pennines from Manchester to Leeds was in a tunnel! The LNWR was first to use them, btw, in 1860. Water troughs would make an interesting video - where they were and how they were designed (quite clever, and more complicated than you might think.)

[@marqbarq5977]

One of my most memorable things I did in York was going to the railway museum.

[@luxford60]

A few years ago we went to the park near the end of our road to watch Flying Scotsman crossing the railway viaduct there. The viaduct is mostly used by the Gospel Oak to Barking Line of the London Overground, so this was definitely something a bit different.

[@highpath4776]

I try to avoid the "hype" over Flying Scotsman, even though the wife's family had connections with Doncaster Works, the LNER and some Great Central Sheds. I think I appreciate most steam locomotives and the hard work everyone puts into keeping them going (including me if shifting coal piles and needle gunning and priming chassis frames counts). I does mean I generally (not always) avoid the crowds , or get good photos of something else running or on display (I have a bit of a soft spot for both "Green Arrow" and "Blue Peter"

[@phaasch]

Both beautiful, classically proportioned engines. Perhaps now the A1SLT have proved it is possible to fabricate a monobloc cylinder assembly, we may once again see Green Arrow race the rails

[@thomasburke2683]

Respect to all volunteers, they perform a valuable task. Without them enthusiasts and the general public would be greatly deprived.

[@andrewyoung749]

yeah wish 60800 would come back. but 60532 is due back soon

[@dbzfanexwarbrady]

it also helps that the name Flying Scotsman is easy to remember but distinct enough to stand out

[@TheDapTopEngine]

the only simple answer is it was the world’s first steam locomotive to officially hit 100mph in service in 1934

[@scottlewisparsons9551]

Thank you for another interesting video. From Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

[@joshuaW5621]

Happy birthday Flying Scotsman.

[@TheInsanebrain247]

I first heard of the Flying Scotsman through Thomas And Friends and they highlighted that the loco had two tenders. I never fully understood why and I learned a short time later that it mostly ran with one so the mystery got more perplexing until now; based on this video here, the second tender basically acted like life support for it in a system that wasn't catering to steam. And yet, Ol' Scotty just kept on going through the years bringing smiles and awe to anyone who could see him in all of his glory. I think that's what makes The Flying Scotsman such an legend; its fame comes from the long journey it's been on and the people it's gotten to see all along the way. I think it's definitely earned its place in history because of that.

[@tomcarslaw2117]

I cannot recollect the year but I would guess about late 1970s we were getting a train to Edinburgh on our way back to Norwich and in Queen St station on the adjacent platform was FS just sitting on its own chuffing away quietly and no one else in sight. Our two young sons were enthralled, we could have clambered over it but a peek onto the footplate was enough. Wonderful.

[@tbjtbj7930]

"But why?" Because, Jago old bean, its one hundred years since..." "No not that you pedant. Why is it so famous?" Err yeah good question...

[@SteamCrane]

Saw 4472 on Fisherman's Wharf on our honeymoon in 1972. Pretty engine!

[@johnjephcote7636]

My parents saw it as an A1 at the British Empire Exhibition (with Caerphiily Castle). I was sometimes pulled by it when Alan Pegler first owned it, before the double tender was purchased. I do prefer it in its later BR configuration as an A3 with 'German' deflector plates. The sad thing is the fact that it was a 'money pit' and went thro' several owners.

[@micheallastname5772]

I remember Pete Waterman talking about this as "worst ever investment" as when restoring it, they painted it the original colour (from the works sheet) and started getting death threats about it not being Apple Green like the famous picture of it

[@peteryoung4957]

Thank you Jago, for doing the history of Flying Scotsman in a short but highly informative video.

[@Flymochairman1]

Nice one Jago Hazzard. A fine, concise piece on an iconic piece of British engineering prowess. Keep safe. Cheers!

[@namenamename390]

Ah, I was wondering why both you and Train of Thought made a video on Flying Scotsman on the same day, I didn't know it was its birthday.

[@MadDragon-lb7qg]

Last summer, The Scotsman was on the Swanage Railway for a week or so. Although I wasn't able to ride it, but I did see it arrive and leave the station as it went back and forth from the Swanage station to Nordon Park and ride near Corfe.

[@iankemp1131]

Yes, I saw it too, I was volunteering as a platform steward on a couple of the days it was there. Stirring sounds as the piper welcomed its arrival and departure at Swanage. That was its first trip after returning from overhaul, and you could say that the Swanage Railway helped them iron out some of the bugs and teething troubles! There was certainly one delayed departure while they sorted out a problem with brakes leaking on.

[@peterjohncooper]

Enjoyed it very much. Thank you.

[@brick6347]

The days of steam aren't quite gone, there's actually one line in Poland that still runs steam locomotives. Not a heritage railway, a regular PKP timetabled one. I think it must be the last in Europe (perhaps 🤷🏻‍♂️). it's comforting to know that somewhere out there, people are going about the day on a steam train!

[@BritishBeachcomber]

The Flying Scotsman is iconic but the Mallard is surely the most beautiful locomotive ever built.

[@JagoHazzard]

I am a big fan of the A4s. I think it’s a design that still looks striking.

[@thomasburke2683]

@@JagoHazzard you need to research a video on the A4 locos, stripped of their streamlining, for ease of maintenance, for example during the war.

[@norbitonflyer5625]

@@thomasburke2683 Unlike the LMS streamliners, the A4s kept their streamlining throughout the war, except for the fairings over the driving wheels.

[@likklej8]

Back in my 1960s train spotting days at Hatfield I saw 60103 on Hull fish trains,parcels trains and even once on a mixed traffic train inc coal wagons. We youngsters laughed as we were western region GWR fans!

[@MorrisHillmanProductions]

'Flying Scotsman' is an international icon of railway history.

[@delurkor]

Great video, thank you. I did not take the time to see it while it was marooned in S.F., thought about it. They ran it on the State Belt Railroad that served the docks along the Embarquedaro. I don't know if it ran through the Fort Mason tunnel to the Presidio. I would not be surprised. The State Belt is gone, torn out in the 80s by a huge water project. The 3 stall roundhouse remains as an office. F line trolleys run the route from Market to Pier 39. There is talk about extending the line through the tunnel to the Presidio. Thirty years plus, talk.

[@katycarr9819]

Fascinating story, thanks so much.

[@davidty2006]

I can't belive the thing is already 100... Even with the extensive modifications over the years it's still an iconic engine. Now i wonder when we'll ever send the thing around europe just to add to the records.

[@thomasburke2683]

The thing!!! Is nothing sacred?

[@rogink]

I heard an item about the Flying Scotsman this morning on the radio. I have to say it did strike me with the claim that the Flying Scotsman is the 'world's most famous' locomotive. In these cynical times you have to wonder, is it really that well known around the world? Sure, around the English speaking world. But these days that is pretty insignificant. I wonder - is there a loco in China or India that is known to more people?

[@mkendallpk4321]

That was interesting. Now we know the why and how it became famous. Thank you Jago.

[@rowanmorgan457]

Love love love the stories. Hadn't known about Gordon but that makes sense!

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Gordon was an A0, IIRC.

[@rayfisher3921]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 The interesting case in the Thomas the Tank engine stories is Henry. Study the illustrations in the earliest books in the series and you will see he couldn't make up his mind whether he was a 4-6-2 or a 4-6-0 - an AB0 class.

[@crazypickles8235]

This was an awesome short form homage to one of the world's most famous locomotives! Thank you for sharing this and helping the railfan community participate in the 100th anniversary of this big, beautiful Gresley Pacific!

[@ianangusmann]

When I was in the UK I went to the Museum to see it but it was away on a tour. But did enjoy the Museum visit and highly recommend it. Thanks for bringing back those memories.

[@johnsmart964]

Absolutely excellent video, thank you.

[@richarddyasonihc]

I do like your video, Flying Scotsman is one of my model railway locos.

[@dukeofaaghisle7324]

“Flagship locomotive” - a nice muddle of transport modes 🙂

[@MarkCarne-hu5xw]

So Jago, you say it seemed destined to ruin anyone who owned it. So the nation brought it, and here we are, skint! 🤣