The Flying Scotsman On The Tracks railway posters WL
Since The Flying Scotsman’s return to the tracks in 2016, the locomotive has been hauling ‘Scotsman on the Tracks’ tours across the UK. The special passenger trip’s carried out in the 2016 Scotsman on the tracks tour include: London Paddington to Salisbury, Hampshire Cream Tea, Surrey Hills, The Yorkshireman, Cambrian Coast, The Tynesider, London Euston to Holyhead, The White Rose, The Yorkshireman, The Hadrian, The Waverley, Shildon Shed Bash, Severn Valley Railway and the East Lancs Railway. All these great journey’s are represented by their own poster in this unique collection. The poster features a superb dynamic image of the Flying Scotsman in its famous green livery
Flying Scotsman On The Tracks 2022 Tour Dates
The Flying Scotsman is owned by the National Railway Museum for and on behalf of the nation. The Flying Scotsman took part in a series of half a dozen appearances in March 2022. These were The Cotswold Venturer on 5 March, London to Oxford on 13 March, London to Kent on 17 March, London to Salisbury and a Salisbury tour on 24 March. According to Wikipedia, the Flying Scotsman was withdrawn in April 2022, for an overhaul in preparation for its centenary year in 2023. Following the work it will be certified to run on the mainline until 2029, after which it will run solely on heritage railways until 2032. Its first engagement following restoration will be daily trips and static display on the Bluebell Railway.
Why is the Flying Scotsman so famous?
The Flying Scotsman is one of, if not the, most famous trains in the world. The service linking Edinburgh and London, in both directions, began in 1862 and had been known as the 10:00 Special Scotch Express.
In 1923, more than thirty of the nation’s railway companies were merged to form, four large railway companies. The grouped company’s, now widely known as The Big Four, consisted of the Great Western Railway, Southern Railway, London Midland and Scottish Railway and London and North Eastern Railway companies.
In 1924, the London to Edinburgh route was renamed by the LNER to the Flying Scotsman, its unofficial name since the 1870s. In a programme of modernisation and improvement, along with its name change, the service saw the introduction of the Doncaster Works built, Nigel Gresley designed 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive, The Flying Scotsman.
According to an article by Ben Stockdale on the Railway Hub website. Flying Scotsman originally cost £7944 to build. A figure equivalent to about £326,000 in today’s money. However, this pales into insignificance with it’s restoration figures. The National Railway Museum bought the train for £2.31m in 2004 and spent a further £4.5m to overhaul it. This makes Flying Scotsman one of the most expensive locomotives in the world.
In 1862, the 392 mile journey took ten and a half hours to complete, although this did include a half-hour stop at York for lunch! The Flying Scotsman’s inaugural journey on 1 May 1928, completed the journey in 8 hours and 3 minutes. However, this time was down to speed restrictions put on the railway companies following a derailment in 1895 on the West Coast East Coast line. When the restrictions were lifted in 1932 another half hour had been knocked off the journey time, becoming the first train to cut the journey time to below eight hours.
With the LNER’s publicity department going into action, The Flying Scotsman soon became a firm favorite with the passengers.
Flying Scotsman became a flagship locomotive for the LNER. It represented the company at the 1924 and 1925 British Empire Exhibition.
On 30 November 1934, Flying Scotsman became the first steam locomotive to reach the officially authenticated speed of 100 mph (161 km/h) becoming one of, if not the, most famous locomotives in the world. Between 1969 and 1973 Flying Scotsman toured extensively in the United States and Canada and in Australia between 1988 and 1989.
It was during its time in Australia Flying Scotsman added another record to its CV when it set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive. It travelled 422 miles (679 km) on 8 August 1989.
In 1989, Flying Scotsman added another record to CV when it set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive. It travelled 422 miles (679 km) in Australia, on 8 August.
Following a ten year restoration project, Flying Scotsman returned to the tracks in 2016. Since then, it has been hauling enthusiast passengers on journey specials to a variety of destinations across the United Kingdom, as well as making personal appearances at the National Railway Museum in York, Crewe Heritage Museum and at Locomotion in Shildon.
Other Flying Scotsman Railway Posters
The Flying Scotsman passenger train service began in 1862 as the Special Scotch Express. The Flying Scotsman train was officially named in 1923 after the passenger service from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley on the East Coast mainline. Its unmissable green livery, record-breaking achievements, and iconic railway posters soon made the train extremely popular with the British public.
The Flying Scotsman continues to be a symbol of British engineering and a beloved piece of railway history, captivating enthusiasts and tourists worldwide. This famous train has left its mark in various forms of media, gracing the pages of books, the screens of films, and even adorning coins, postage stamps, and jigsaw puzzles. Its iconic presence extends to everyday items like cups, mugs, and coasters, making it a beloved symbol that permeates both history and popular culture.
Vintage posters featuring the Flying Scotsman are especially popular among collectors due to their rarity and nostalgic appeal. These posters capture the essence of the train and are highly valued by those who appreciate history and art. The posters are a testament to its enduring legacy, the Flying Scotsman continues to inspire and captivate generations, becoming a cherished symbol of the golden age of rail travel.
Some of our favorite Flying Scotsman posters include an anonymous poster for the LNER who in conjunction with the Cunard shipping line produced a poster to encourage transatlantic travel from America and Canada to the British shores and onto the Continent. The Cunard LNER poster depicts the famous train waiting patiently on Liverpool docks while its passengers disembark from the RMS Aquitania.
Another well-known and popular poster was produced in 1932 by the British artist A.R. Thomson. The Take Me By Flying Scotsman poster depicts a small child standing on a railway platform looking up at a train driver in his cab. The poster mimics Southern Railways ‘Early Holiday poster‘ by Charles Brown. However, the size of the child compared to the locomotive, and the train driver needing to use a megaphone to communicate with the child, seems to be a playful way to show that LNER trains were bigger and faster than Southern’s.
Leo Marfurt‘s 1928 Flying Scotsman poster is an Art Deco classic that barely features the famous locomotive or train. Instead, the bright and contemporary graphic, almost abstract design depicts a large crowd of passengers leaving the platform having alighted the train whilst others wait patiently to board. The image accompanies the message that the train leaves Kings Cross station in London at 10 a.m. every weekday.
A personal favorite features the iconic train winding its way through the rugged Scottish scenery in the Monessie Gorge in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The stunning By Rail to the Highlands print was created by the renowned artist Terence Cuneo who was renowned for his incredible railway posters and fine art paintings.
For our final highlight, we have chosen a series of posters that were created to celebrate the Flying Scotsman turning 100 years old. Each of the twenty Centenary posters marks one of the mainline centenary runs that took place between March and December 2023. The runs include East Lancashire, Royal Duchy, Keighley and Worth Valley, Cardiff Express, the Cheshireman, the Portsmouth Flyer, the Salisbury Express, the East Coast Mainline, and the Highland Express.
We currently list over 200 vintage railway posters in our collection with new ones introduced on a regular basis. More than a dozen of these include superb reproduction prints and original Flying Scotsman posters. Take a trip over there and see where the journey takes you!
