Flying Scotsman

**Flying Scotsman** is Gordon’s last remaining brother, the first engine to officially go 100 mph and the record holder for longest nonstop run by a steam engine.

## Personality

In the Railway Series, Gordon was happy to see Flying Scotsman when he came to Sodor. Flying Scotsman proved popular with the engines, however, did spark a little jealousy with Henry, who proved envious of his two tenders. He provided Gordon and the others reassurance at a time when steam on the Mainland was officially being abolished in favour of modern diesel traction.

In the television series, Flying Scotsman is a polite and proud engine; however he can be pompous and somewhat smug, like his brother Gordon. Despite being friendly with Thomas and giving him a pep talk, he thought that no famous engines came from Sodor and indicated that he viewed Sudrian engines with low expectations. He later changed his mind after seeing the Sudrian engines competing at the Great Railway Show, realising they were made of "sterner stuff" than he initially believed. Additionally, after meeting Rebecca for the second time, her opinion on the "little brother" status left something he never expected while giving Gordon a big laugh at the same time.

Flying Scotsman has a common sibling relationship with Gordon, and enjoys teasing him, referring to him as his "little brother" to annoy him, using his catchphrase as his own, or bragging about being invited to the Great Railway Show. He does care for him though, as shown when Gordon was overheating during the race and Flying Scotsman urgently warned him to stop.

## Technical Details

### Real-life History

Flying Scotsman is based upon the real locomotive of the same name, an A1 (later A3) Pacific built on the 23rd of February, 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works, to a design by Sir Nigel Gresley. In 1928, it pulled the LNER's first non-stop 'Flying Scotsman' service from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Central, equipped with a specially-built corridor tender allowing its crew to be changed mid-journey. Flying Scotsman set two world records for steam traction, initially becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) on 30th November 1934. While in preservation, it later set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive, where it ran 422 miles (approximately 679 km) on 8th August 1989 during its tour of Australia. As of 2019, Flying Scotsman is owned by the National Railway Museum, and can be found hauling main line railtours and visiting heritage railways across the United Kingdom.

### Livery

In the *Railway Series*, Flying Scotsman is painted in LNER apple green with black and white lining, black frames with red lining, red-backed nameplates and crests on the sides of his cab. His former company's initials, LNER, (first) or his number 4472 (second) is painted on the sides of his tenders in yellow. This livery is based on a variation of the apple green livery worn by the real Flying Scotsman during the late-1960s, the same time period in which he first appeared in the *Railway Series*.

In the television series, Flying Scotsman's livery is largely similar to that in the *Railway Series*, but with several differences. His cylinder covers are painted black with red lining, instead of green with white lining, and the outside of his frames is plain red. Flying Scotsman's front buffer beam in the television series is also missing several details, including his number and extra lining. Additionally, the lining on his tenders varies between his appearances in the model and CGI series. The sides of Flying Scotsman's cab in the television series also have his number 4472 painted on them instead of the crests, as well as extra lining which is not present on the real locomotive's apple green livery.

From 2016 onwards, Flying Scotsman is painted in BR Brunswick Green with red lining and his number 60103 painted on the sides of his cab. He currently has one tender: the corridor tender that he was fitted with in 1928. His canteen tender was used for A4 no. 4464 Bittern at certain times in preservation. It is currently stored at the National Railway Museum in York, where Flying Scotsman is also kept.

## Appearances

**Alsop Productions**

The case of the missing engines

Season 9: Percy and the Missing Statue

**Thomas & Friends**

* The Great Race