Flying Scotsman had a dismal year in 2024 when she remained virtually stationary, spending most of the year on static display at the National Railway Museum (NRM) sites in York & Shildon. Last year (2025) she was a little more active: 2 x single day mainline excursions and 4 x multi-day outings on heritage railways. The rest of the time she was again, on static display.
Initially her programme for 2026 didn’t look much different, but slowly more details have been appearing.
LATEST UPDATE – 06/03/2026: Flying Scotsman will be visiting Swanage Railway for ten days in October as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations. During her stay she’ll be on static display and hauling trains on their 5½ miles of track between Norden and Swanage.
Flying Scotsman Programme for 2026
(Last Updated: 06/03/2026 )
| Date | Host | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 01-08 Jan | NRM | On static display at York |
| 14 Feb | VTR | Flying Scotsman will haul three Valentine’s Shakespeare Express trains on 2hr return trips from Birmingham to Stratford-Upon-Avon, with brunch, afternoon tea or dinner service in Pullman carriages. |
| 18-20 Feb | VTR | Five one hour trips daily over half-term from Birmingham Moore Street station. Slightly odd this one; the outbound trip is diesel-hauled, then FS takes over for the return journey. |
| 21 Feb | VTR | An addition to the programme – Flying Scotsman will repeat Vintage Trains’ Shakespeare Express Valentine’s Day excursions. Three trains on 2hr return trips from Birmingham Moore Street/Snow Hill to Stratford-Upon-Avon, with brunch, afternoon tea or dinner service in Pullman carriages. |
| 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 & 19 Mar | WCL | FS will be on static display and open for footplate tours. |
| 13, 14, 15, 20 & 21 Mar | WCL | FS will be running return journeys up and down the Watercress Line’s 10 mile track from Alresford to Alton and back. There are premium dining tickets for breakfast and afternoon tea on board, and ordinary passenger tickets. WCL will also be operating trains taking passengers from Ropley station and Alton to join FS at Alresford. |
| 28 Mar – 24 Apr | NRM | Flying Scotsman will be on static display at the National Railway Museum, York. |
| 20-28 May | GCR | FS will be available for footplate visits at Ruddington on 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th and 28th May. (Needs validating. No longer mentioned on GCR website) |
| 23-31 May | GCR/FEE | Flying Scotsman will haul multiple trips on 23rd, 24th, 25th, 30th and 31st May. FEE are handling bookings. |
| 03-12 June | ELR/JGH | FS will be on static display on 3rd(H), 4th(B), 10th(H), 11th(B) and 12th(B) June. At (B)ury or (H)eywood stations. |
| 05-14 June | ELR/JGH | FS will haul trains from Bury to Rawtenstall on 5th(D), 6th(D) & 7th and then on 13th(D) & 14th June. (D=Dining). |
| 4 – 31 Aug | LOC | Flying Scotsman will be on static display or running along the 0.6 mile (1 km) track at the National Railway Museum’s other site ‘Locomotion’, Shildon. |
| 23 Oct – 01 Nov | SR | Flying Scotsman will be on static display at Swanage Station on 23, 26, 27, 30 & 31 October. She will haul trains on 24, 25, 28, 29 October and 1st November. Tickets will be available on the SR website. |
|
A1 = A1 Steam Locomotive Trust |
NRM = National Railway Museum |
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 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in 2016 – Charlie Jackson (CC-BY-2.0)
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