One of the most famous locomotives in the world, the Flying Scotsman, which was built in Doncaster back in 1923 is set to go on tour around the UK. Owned by the National Railway Museum in York, it was newly restored and is now ready to celebrate its centenary year.
The 24th February 2023 marks 100 years since Flying Scotsman entered service – to celebrate, there will be an unmissable programme of events featuring the locomotive on the tracks, visits to heritage railways and lots of Flying Scotsman fun at our museums.
As part of its trip around the Heritage Railways across the UK, the Flying Scotsman will spend the 1st of May until the 24th May 2023 at Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. The railway is
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is well-known as ‘The Railway Children Line’ since being thrust into the limelight in the 1970s when Lionel Jeffries selected the railway as the backdrop for his adaption of E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children.
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More than 150 years after it was built to serve the local mill trades in the late 19th Century, the railway welcomes thousands of visitors all year round.
At the National Railway Museum, there will be a range of celebratory occasions such as Flying Scotsman: 100 Years, 100 Voices will showcase documents, photographs and stories from the museum’s archives as well as from a recent public call-out. This will take place on February 10th, 2023.
There will also be a cutting-edge VR experience at the National Railway Museum, which will take visitors back in time to some of the locomotive’s greatest moments over the last 100 years.
Charlotte Kingston, the head of interpretation and design at the National Railway Museum, said: “Often described as ‘the people’s engine’, we want to hear what Flying Scotsman means to you, whether it’s through working on the railways, seeing Scotsman as a child or another cherished memory. We hope that Flying Scotsman: 100 Years, 100 Voices will help create a lasting and important chapter in the Flying Scotsman story.”
There will be an exhibition in Doncaster’s Danum Gallery, Library and Museum displaying artwork from the new Flying Scotsman children’s book by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Michael Foreman.
Damian Allen, chief executive of Doncaster Council, said: “We are the birthplace of the Flying Scotsman. It is where it was built by Sir Nigel Gresley. It is Yorkshire grit, Yorkshire coal and Yorkshire steam. It is in our blood, literally. We have one foot in the past but our heart in the present, our heads firmly fixed in the future.”
To find a list of the full events taking place to celebrate the locomotive’s 100 years, visit the website here.
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