Category:Flying Scotsman (train)

Painting by M. Secretan of a "retro" Flying Scotsman-styled special excursion, hauled by Stirling Single locomotive No.1, and based on the train of 1888. Reproduced in The Railway Magazine, January 1939 [image info]

1928: Introduction of the new corridor tenders and non-stop service [image info]

The Flying Scotsman: The World's Most Famous Train", book cover [image info]

The "Special Scots Express" train service started running in 1862, running across the North British, North Eastern, and Great Northern Railways' track. The train officially adopted its previously-unofficial name The Flying Scotsman in 1924, and a locomotive (number 4472) was given the name to mark the event.

March 1928 article on the new non-stop service, The Railway Magazine

London to Edinburgh Non-Stop.

NEW L.N.E.R. TRAIN SERVICES AND THE FIRST CORRIDOR TENDER.

"AS from May 1, the London and North Eastern Railway will inaugurate non-stop running between King's Cross and Edinburgh, 392.7 miles, in each direction, a world's record so far as publicly-scheduled express trains are concerned. Last year the L.N.E.R. ran a train nonstop between King's Cross and Newcastle, but, whereas this was the relief portion of "The Flying Scotsman" and ran four days a week during the height of the Summer Season only, the new booking will apply to "The Flying Scotsman" itself, will affect the Aberdeen as well as the Edinburgh sections, and will run each week-day during the spring as well as the summer months.
To meet intermediate requirements there will be a new train from King's Cross at 10.5 a.m. (10.15 a.m. from Waverley in the up direction), taking the Glasgow and Perth sections, together with Aberdeen coaches, and as the second train will give all the usual connections, there will be no loss of standard facilities. No doubt, however, speed advocates will regret that the L.N.E. and L.M.S. Companies have not seen their way, so far, to modify the "agreement" which, it is alleged, prevents any acceleration on the standard 8+ hours between London and Edinburgh, in that there is no reduction in journey time. This at first sight is anomalous, as the second part of the L.N.E.R. train takes the same time, though including the usual stops at Grantham, York, Newcastle, and Berwick. On the other hand, if the London–Edinburgh non-stops are to run only in the summer months it may not be considered good policy to have, say, half-an-hour's difference in the quickest London-Edinburgh timings in the summer and winter services. The L.N.E.R. is, however, very much to be congratulated on its enterprise in scheduling the London-Edinburgh nonstop run as a daily performance each way, and for the ingenuity displayed in devising the first "corridor" tender whereby it is rendered practicable. The popularity of the non-stop run to Newcastle, which was a feature of the East Coast Anglo-Scottish services last year, made it clear that there is a considerable public demand for improvements of that kind, and the London and North Eastern Railway have for some time been exploring the possibility of extending the distance covered without stopping. It was felt that the limit of the powers of a single engine crew had been reached, and that it was undesirable on grounds of safety to carry two crews on one engine. Some method had, therefore, to be devised by means of which engine crews could be changed en route, and the provision of a corridor on the tender supplied the solution to the problem.

This has now been carried into effect, and two of Mr. Gresley's three cylinder Pacific-type engines, i.e., 4472 Flying Scotsman and 4476 Royal Lancer, have been fitted with the new tenders. These will be employed for inaugurating the new London-Edinburgh non-stop runs commencing on May 1, and eight other engines of the same class will be similarly equipped. The driver and fireman in charge on leaving London will be relieved as the train passes Tollerton, 1974 miles from King's Cross, or, roughly, half-way on the journey, the off-duty crew riding in the foremost third-class compartment in the train. On reaching the change-over point the relief crew will pass through the brake van next the engine, and by means of the vestibuled connection with the tender, enter the corridor leading to the footplate, those coming off duty passing back to the train in a similar manner.

The necessity of using a good class of coal on a run of this magnitude is obvious, and a point in this connection is that the engines are equipped with shaking grates. The gangway, Or corridor, is located on the right-hand side of the tender looking forward, and entirely covered in. It has a width of 18 in. and a height of 5 ft. Steps at each end of the tender afford access from the level of the gangway or corridor to that of the engine footplate at the front and the vestibule flooring at the rear. Circular windows are provided, one at each end of the corridor, for lighting the interior, and the position of these can be seen in some of the accompanying illustrations. The whole arrangement is neat and compact, The tender is of the eight-wheeled pattern with rigid axles, and weighs in working order 62 tons 8 cwt., as compared with 56.5 tons of the original standard tender, the coal capacity of which was, however, 8 tons in place of 9 tons. A door is provided at each end of the corridor on the tender.