A3 4472 Flying Scotsman Overhaul - 15 November 2008

The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive no. 4472 "Flying Scotsman" (originally no. 1472) was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley. It was employed on long-distance express trains on the LNER and its successors, British Railways Eastern and North-Eastern Regions, notably the 10am London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman service after which this locomotive was named. In its career 4472 "Flying Scotsman" has travelled 2,000,000 miles (3,200,000 km).

The locomotive was completed in 1923, construction having been started under the auspices of the Great Northern Railway. It was built as an A1, initially carrying the number 1472.

Flying Scotsman was something of a flagship locomotive for the LNER. It represented the company at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 and 1925. At this time it acquired its name and the new number of 4472. From then on it was commonly used for promotional purposes.

With suitably modified valve gear, this locomotive was one of five Gresley Pacifics selected to haul the prestigious non-stop Flying Scotsman train service from London to Edinburgh, hauling the inaugural train on 1 May 1928. For this the locomotives ran with a new version of the large eight-wheel tender which held 9 tons of coal. This and the usual facility for water replenishment from the water trough system enabled them to travel the 392 miles (631 km) from London to Edinburgh in eight hours non-stop. The tender included a corridor connection and tunnel through the water tank giving access to the locomotive cab from the train in order to allow replacement of the driver and fireman without stopping the train. The following year the locomotive appeared in the film "The Flying Scotsman".

On 30 November 1934, running a light test train, 4472 became the first steam locomotive to be officially recorded at 100 mph (160.9 km/h) and earned a place in the Land speed record for railed vehicles; the publicity-conscious LNER made much of the fact. On 22 August 1928, there appeared an improved version of this Pacific type classified A3; older A1 locomotives were later rebuilt to conform. On 25 April 1945, A1 class locomotives not yet rebuilt were reclassified A10 in order to make way for newer Thompson and Peppercorn Pacifics. This included "Flying Scotsman", which emerged from Doncaster works on 4 January 1947, as an A3 having received a boiler with a long "banjo" dome of the type it carries today. By this time it had become no. 103 in Edward Thompson's comprehensive renumbering scheme for the LNER, then 60103 from 1 January 1948, on the nationalisation of the railways when all the LNER locomotive numbers were prefixed with 60.
60103 "Flying Scotsman" painted in the darker BR green livery it wore when withdrawn in 1963.

Between 5 June 1950, and 4 July 1954, and between 26 December 1954, and 1 September 1957, under British Railways ownership, it was allocated to Leicester Central shed on the Great Central, running Nottingham Victoria to London Marylebone services via Leicester Central, and hauled one of the last services on that line before its closure[citation needed].

All A3 Pacifics were subsequently fitted with a double KYLCHAP chimney to improve performance and economy. This caused soft exhaust and smoke drift that tended to obscure the driver's forward vision; the remedy was found in the German-type smoke deflectors fitted from 1960, which somewhat changed the locomotives' appearance but successfully solved the problem.

In 2004 "Flying Scotsman" was put up for sale because of the mounting debts of its owning company. After a high-profile campaign it was bought in April 2004 by the National Railway Museum in York and it is now part of the National Collection. In 2007 "Flying Scotsman" entered the Museum's workshops for a major overhaul to mainline running standard; planned to be completed by mid 2010, if sufficient funds are raised.[5] The bay in which the locomotive is being refurbished is on view to visitors to the NRM but currently the engine has been dismantled to such an extent that the running plate is the only component recognisable to the casual observer.