Flying Scotsman on London King's Cross to York run

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Fantastic!! LL

Crowds gathered at King's Cross for its scheduled departure at 07:40 and thousands lined the route, while some of the 297 passengers paid up to £450 for a ticket to travel on the train.
Among the passengers was 83-year-old Ron Kennedy, from Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex, who drove Flying Scotsman from 1956 until it was retired in 1963.
He said "It's unbelievable. I never dreamt about being on it again. To be out with it is just fantastic.

Bless him!

Some great photos there, LL - I felt so sorry for the guy who was all set up to film the Flying Scotsman - then along came the Virgin express....

I saw that yesterday, LL. My heart soared. It brought back so many great memories. My father took me with him when I was young to wait for it to go by. It was magical.

lily wrote:I saw that yesterday, LL.  My heart soared.  It brought back so many great memories.  My father took me with him when I was young to wait for it to go by.  It was magical.  

You were in the UK as a kid? I didn't realise that. My dad took me on it when we went down from Scotland to London. Bit like the Orient Express - out of this world. I also remember the Coronation Scot and The Mallard. Ah, those were the days!! LL

Yes I was, LL, for which I do feel lucky.

Like you I remember the Mallard, but can't remember the Coronation Scot. Traveling on the steam trains was wonderful and I am so grateful for the experience.

lily wrote:Yes I was, LL, for which I do feel lucky.  

Like you I remember the Mallard, but can't remember the Coronation Scot.   Traveling on the steam trains was wonderful and I am so grateful for the experience.  

My dad was, besides being mad on boats, dotty over trains.  The Coronation Scot ran from the Coronation  of George V and Queen Elizabeth from London Euston to Glasgow Central but I think went out of service at the start of  WW2.   I only ever saw it in a museum.   LL

I saw the Flying Scotsman when I was a kid, but I don't recall it being the one I went to London on at any time.

I am hoping, that now it's on the move again, it will be doing a few trips up North - I would definitely go on one of those. I know modern ones are very glossy and fast, with free wi-fi, etc., but they're just not the same.

How can modern ones compare to the feeling of the old steam trains and getting smut on your face. Not to mention the sound of clackety clack.

Although those really cold and drafty small waiting rooms were not too nice as I recall.

LL, my father was also nuts about boats but then again, anything with an engine thrilled him!

On the move again:

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Trainspotters urged to keep off the tracks as Flying Scotsman begins UK tour



But no-one is sure where or when, because spectators caused chaos last time-

The National Railway Museum (NRM) in York bought the locomotive for £2.3 million in 2004 before work got under way on its restoration in 2006.

It is not publishing the timings of its tour in a bid to reduce the chance of people disrupting mainline services.

Jim Lowe, head of operations at the museum, said: "It is vital that spectators do not venture onto the railway, particularly when it is on the mainline as a full timetable of regular services will be running.

"In order to avoid overcrowding and incidents of trespass neither ourselves nor our partners will be publishing recommended viewing points or the timetable of when the train will be passing through specific locations."

Which I find fairly annoying, as I had hoped to see the train on its tour, but I am NOT hovering around railway lines for hours - days - in the hope of seeing it come through.

I hope they find a compromise of some kind.

Definitely, Bonny.  It is a train of legend after all!

On the other hand, anyone stupid enough to stand on a busy train track should perhaps be given a demonstration of Darwinism in action.

After days of confusion and incompetence, someone has actually left their snug offices and measured the track involved in Scotland, so it is on its way.

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Nice piccie to be going on with:



The Flying Scotsman crosses the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick-Upon-Tweed en route from York to Edinburgh Waverley. Picture: Ian Rutherford

There should be much snapping later today, for the photo everyone wants - the Flying Scotsman going over the Forth Bridge, round the Fife Circle, and back over the bridge again.

PS - the 'confusion and incompetence' was apparently caused by Network Rail's HQ in Milton Keynes claiming to have 'no data' on the width of the track on the Fife Circle.

No, I have NO idea how they imagined choo choos have been running on it for years, data-less.

Oh how I miss the old Steam Trains.  I travelled from London to Glasow several times a year at one time.  And from Glasgow to Lossiemouth a couple of times.

I still have an old Steam Engine Number Plate that has been around the houses with me for years.

Oh I do too, Sabot.  Do you know that you can take a ride on a steam train in the UK?

lily wrote:Oh I do too, Sabot.  Do you know that you can take a ride on a steam train in the UK?

Yes, I have been on one, Lily. But it was the getting on the train and going somewhere important that was the big adventure.

I've watched some and will see the rest later, LL.  Thanks so much for that.  It brings back so many memories including this...

I took my children to a steam train ride in, I think, the Severn Valley.  It departed a little over 5 minutes early and we had not yet reached the train.  So it went without us and it was the last of the day.  So, they called ahead to a few stations down the track while we took a cab at speed - around twisting country roads - to reach the station as they had held the train for us for several minutes.    

We were on the other side of the tracks and had to walk across the tracks to the train until we reached where we were supposed to sit.  Everyone was watching us and we were all doubled over with laughter.  

We did have a great time though.  

There are still a lot of super old trains being run by enthusiasts in the UK, fortunately.

Some superb photos of the Flying Scotsman here:

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and

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The Flying Scotsman on the Borders Railway near Heriot

That is superb - and look how many carriages it's pulling!

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For almost-live pics and videos of the two great icons.

Robert Crichton ‏@cohibaandron 3h3 hours ago
#FlyingScotsman at North Queensferry from the garden

LL, you are a star.  

Have just sent that to my sons who used to love Grumpy Gordon.  

Bonny, that photo is amazing.  I'm not sure if I envy the person who took the photo.  I imagine it depends on how many go past in a day....

In a day? Hundreds, I should think, Lily - I suppose it just becomes background noise, at least the modern ones will?