The worlds most famous steam engine will pay the North East a visit when it travels to Locomotion in Shildon this summer.
As part of the museum’s Steam Season, Flying Scotsman will be visiting Locomotion from 11 July to 1 August 2018. The season offers visitors an inspiring programme which will explore the power of steam and its influence on the railways.
There will also be host of free activities for school and family visitors to join in with.
Alongside catching a glimpse of the iconic locomotive, visitors will have the chance to access the footplate and corridor tender or ride behind Flying Scotsman and experience passenger steam rides for a small fee.
Make sure you don’t miss the museum’s Steam Season of inspiring events, exhibitions and activities from May to September 2018.
Locomotion is open from 10.00 to 17.00 daily and parking and admission are free of charge. For more information, please call the museum team on 01904 685780.
Further details of Flying Scotsman activities, along with prices and booking information for ticketed activities, will be available from 4 June—see www.locomotion.org.uk for details.
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For more information, contact:
Pam Porter, Events Officer at Locomotion
pam.porter@locomotion.org.uk
01904 685 784
Simon Baylis, PR & Communications Manager
simon.baylis@railwaymuseum.org.uk
01904 686 299
Photography available.
About Locomotion:
- Locomotion offers visitors the chance to see highlights of the national collection of railway vehicles in Shildon, the world’s first railway town.
- Locomotion forms part of the Science Museum Group, along with the Science Museum in London, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the National Railway Museum in York.
- Locomotion is a partnership between the Science Museum Group and Durham County Council, which is a major funder of the museum.
- Admission to Locomotion is free.
- For more information visit www.locomotion.org.uk
- Follow us at twitter.com/LocomotionSHD, Instagram.com/LocomotionSHD, facebook.com/LocomotionSHD
About Flying Scotsman
- Flying Scotsman was originally built in Doncaster for the London and North Eastern Railway, emerging from the works on 24 February 1923, and initially numbered 1472. It was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley as part of the A1 class – the most powerful locomotives used by the railway.
- By 1924, when it was selected to appear at the British Empire Exhibition in London, the locomotive had been renumbered 4472 – and been given the name Flying Scotsman, after the London to Edinburgh rail service which started daily at 10am in 1862.
- The British Empire Exhibition made Flying Scotsman famous, and it went on to feature in many more publicity events for the LNER. In 1928, it was given a new type of tender with a corridor, which meant that a new crew could take over without stopping the train. This allowed it to haul the first ever non-stop London to Edinburgh service on May 1, reducing the journey time to eight hours.
- In 1934, Flying Scotsman was clocked at 100mph on a special test run – officially the first locomotive in the UK to have reached that speed.
- In 2004, the National Railway Museum purchased the locomotive as part of the national collection.
