After a hectic centenary year in 2023, Flying Scotsman remained virtually stationary in 2024. She was supposed to be operating mainline and heritage line trips in the Autumn, but ended up spending all year on static display at the National Railway Museum (NRM) sites in York & Shildon, with a few 1 kilometre (0.6 mile) rides on Shildon’s demo track in August.
It was hoped she would become operational again in 2025, but the latest update suggests this year will be a sad repeat of last year.
As usual, I’ll post any activity I hear of, here.
UPDATE – 26/06/2025: Some more detail on Flying Scotsman’s upcoming visit to the West Somerset Railway (WSR). If you were hoping to drop by and take some photos, WSR say they are closing all ten stations on their 20-mile line to non-ticket holders on the days when FS is hauling. FS won’t be stopping at any of the stations between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard. WSR say that, while some FS trips have sold out, there are still a few seats available.
UPDATE – 26/06/2025: According to Alstom, Flying Scotsman will temporarily depart the Greatest Gathering site on Saturday, August 2, to haul the Belmond British Pullman luxury train between Wellingborough and Derby (56 miles), returning in the early afternoon. As far as I am aware this will be the first mainline passenger excursion for Flying Scotsman since 13 Dec 2023.
UPDATE – 24/06/2025: Flying Scotsman is to visit The Greatest Gathering in August.
The Greatest Gathering is one of the key events being held this year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of railways. The world’s first rail journey was made on 27 September 1825, when George Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1 hauled hundreds of passengers for 26 miles between Shildon, Darlington and Stockton.
The Greatest Gathering is being hosted by the rail engineering & manufacturing company, Alstom at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works between the 1st and 3rd August. As the name suggests, they are gathering together some of the most significant historic and contemporary locomotives in Britain, including…
- 49 Diesel locomotives
- 19 Electric locomotives
- 2 Bi-mode locomotives
- 1 Hydrogen powered locomotive
and… - 22 steam locomotives, including Flying Scotsman.
There will also be a collection of rare coaches and wagons.
Naturally, now that Flying Scotsman is appearing (in steam but not running) there is a huge demand for tickets. The event itself is already sold out, but Alstom are releasing an extra 2,500 tickets for each of the three days. These will go on sale at 9am on the 27th June on Alstom’s Greatest Gathering website.
UPDATE – 20/06/2025: When tickets went on sale for trips on the Severn Valley Railway on Weds 18th… they sold out in 3 minutes! What a surprise! SVR say they’ll try to add extra trips to Flying Scotsman’s itinerary, so watch their website like a hawk.
UPDATE – 17/06/2025: Flying Scotsman is to visit the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) in July. The heritage railway has been suffering reduced operations and income since January when an embankment collapsed on its 16 miles of track between Bridgenorth and Kidderminster. Since then, the railway has been fund raising for the repairs which are now due to be completed by 25 July. Now it has been announced that Flying Scotsman is to make a supporting visit to the Severn Valley Railway from Friday 25 – Sunday 27 July, which should help restore their finances and bring some welcome attention to the railway.
UPDATE – 29/04/2025: A little more news on Flying Scotsman’s visit to the West Somerset Railway. Tickets went on sale on 23 April and of course there was a frenzy. The website and booking line reportedly collapsed after just 20 minutes. Some trips sold out almost immediately and by the weekend there were only limited options. Don’t despair though. I would be very surprised if a few extra trips didn’t get suddenly added to Flying Scotsman’s programme. My advice is to keep a close watch on their Facebook page for the latest news.
UPDATE – 17/04/2025: Another heritage railway visit has just been added to Flying Scotsman’s programme in June/July. This time it’s the West Somerset Railway, which is good news because they have more track than any other heritage railway; 20 miles between Bishops Lydeard (Nr Taunton) and Minehead on the coast. So she’ll be able to stretch her legs a little bit. Sadly there’s still no news of any mainline excursions.
UPDATE – 17/03/2025: After a longer than planned stay at the Nene Valley Railway, Flying Scotsman is heading back today to the National Railway Museum in York. She was scheduled to set off on the mainline 7 minutes ago, as I write, and she’ll arrive in York this afternoon at 17:10. (RailAdvent have the details). Sadly there’s still no news on mainline excursions.
UPDATE – 08/02/2025: More details of, what is turning out to be, Flying Scotsman’s emaciated programme for 2025 are seeping out from the National Railway Museum and it looks like a disappointing repeat of last year. They’ve added another heritage railway visit, but once again she’ll spend most of the year on display at NRM York and NRM Shildon (Locomotion). There’s no mention of what all her fans really want to see and experience… Flying Scotsman hauling mainline excursions. Very disappointing.
(Yes, we all know she is 102 yrs old and they need to go easy on her, but a programme was agreed with the new caretakers, Northern Steam back in June last year, that included some mainline trips. Where are they??)
UPDATE – 16/01/2025: Just Go Holidays have announced that they are offering a 3-day ‘Flying Scotsman’ break which combines a visit to Cambridge with a ride on the Nene Valley Railway pulled by Flying Scotsman. The break starts on 28 Feb, departures by coach from points around the UK. The Nene valley trip is on 29 Feb.
UPDATE – 13/01/2025: Activity at last! Nene Valley Railway has announced that Flying Scotsman will be running on their track on six days in February & March. Details are still sketchy but it appears they are hoping to have some days when she can be visited on static display, and there may be some evening dining excursions too. Stay tuned!
Flying Scotsman Programme for 2025
(Last Updated: 26/06/2025 )
| Date | Host | Activity | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22-23 Feb | NVR | Sightseeing trips | Daily trips on NVR’s 7.3 miles of track at 09:30, 10:50, 12:10, 13:30 and 14:50 |
| 28 Feb | JGH | Return journey on the Nene Valley Railway | Special charter for Just Go’s 3-day The Flying Scotsman Steam Train & Classic Cambridge break. |
| 1-2 Mar | NVR | Sightseeing trips | Daily trips on NVR’s 7.3 miles of track at 09:30, 10:50, 12:10, 13:30 and 14:50 |
| 5-20 Apr | NRM | On display | On static display at York |
| 12 May-2 Jun | DRC | On display | On display and under steam on the centre’s half mile of track. |
| 28 Jun-14 Jul | WSR | One-way excursions and static display | Flying Scotsman will haul trains on the West Somerset Railway’s 20-mile track between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard on 28, 29, 30 June, then 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 July. Return tickets are one-way with Flying Scotsman and return hauled by one of SWR’s locomotives. The trips on offer on operating days are: daytime & evening trips; evening fish & chips or full dining service; and afternoon tea service. On 26/27 June, 03-07 and 13/14 July, Flying Scotsman will be on static display (ticketed) at Bishops Lydeard Station. |
| 25 Jul – 27 Jul | SVR | Daily trips | Paired with Gresley teak carriages, FS will haul three return trips a day on Fri 25, Saturday 26 and Sun 27 July. |
| 1-3 Aug | ATM | On display in steam | FS will join the 90+ other locomotives on display at The Greatest Gathering. |
| 5 – 25 Aug | LOC | Static display and small trips | Back on display at Locomotion with short trips on their 0.6 mile track. |
A1 = A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
BBL = Bluebell Railway Trust
DRC = Didcot Railway Centre
ELR = East Lancashire Railway
JGH = Just Go Holidays
KWV = Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
LOC = Locomotion, Shildon
MNR = Mid-Norfolk Railway
NRM = National Railway Museum
NVR = Nene Valley Railway
RTC = The Railway Touring Company
SDR = The Steam Dreams Rail Company
SRT = Swanage Railway Trust
STP = Strathspey Railway
SVR = Severn Valley Railway
WSR = West Somerset Railway
ATM = Alstom
Flying Scotsman – the historic locomotive
Built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works, Flying Scotsman was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley as part of the A1 class – the most powerful locomotives used by the railway. She was quickly used by LNER for their long-distance express services, notably on the long-running (62 yrs) daily 10.00am London to Edinburgh ‘Flying Scotsman’ train service after which she was named.
She still holds two world records: the longest non-stop run at 441 miles (8 Aug 1989 in Australia), and the first steam locomotive officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour (30 Nov 1934 in the UK).
Flying Scotsman is owned by the National Railway Museum (part of the Science Museum Group). In June 2024 a new operator, Northern Steam Operations Limited (NSOL), was contracted to manage and run Flying Scotsman for 7½ years to 31 January 2032.
With conservation in mind, the new contract specified a reduced programme with up to 30 days of static display, 15 heritage railway operating days and 20 main line excursion days each year. It was not clear what she would be doing for the remaining 300 days.
The Flying Scotsman numbers game…
It’s easy to get confused over the identity of the ‘Flying Scotsman’ because she is sometimes referred to by different engine numbers.
When she came out of the Doncaster Works on 24th Feb 1923, she was Engine No. 1472.
Within a year she was re-numbered No. 4472, given the name ‘Flying Scotsman’, and introduced to the public at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.
Then, in 1948, when the independent rail companies were nationalised and merged into British Railways, she became No. 60103.
Image: Flying Scotsman – Charlie Jackson (CC-BY-2.0)
