Plan to give Flying Scotsman city home hits buffers

Published on Tuesday 4 November 2003 00:00

THE axe is hanging over plans to give the famous Flying Scotsman train a permanent home in Waverley Station in the Capital.

The Flying Scotsman faces being sold to the highest bidder overseas as the firm behind a proposed tourist centre in the Victorian station struggles with cash problems.

Flying Scotsman plc today admitted the plans were in serious doubt and the locomotive would be sold unless an alternative site could be found.

Now the backers are facing the prospect of selling the famous train to a buyer in the United States, France or Germany. The company, which is listed on the "junior" stockmarket Ofex, last month announced an annual loss of 475,000 for 2002.

Bosses at Flying Scotsman plc said today that auditors were sceptical about the company having enough cash to run the tourist scheme at Waverley.

Meanwhile, Ofex confirmed it had suspended the shares from trading pending the reporting of its financial results for the first six months of this year.

The company’s interim results should have been published at the end of September under stock exchange rules.

The Flying Scotsman is backed by Tony Marchington, the biotechnology millionaire, and was floated on the stock exchange in March 2002. But the locomotive has been hit by restrictions on when it can run on the national rail network because of fears that sparks from the train could ignite a blaze in dry weather.

The plans for the 25,000sq ft museum at Waverley Station - which included retail and catering facilities and an original Pullman restaurant carriage - were unveiled last year.

Network Rail must still give the plans the green light. Station users such as GNER and ScotRail would also have to agree.

A spokesman for Flying Scotsman plc said: "If the Edinburgh project does not happen, and another suitable site is not found, then the engine could be sold. It would not be surprising if it was sold to a US buyer, but equally it could be sold to France or Germany."

The Flying Scotsman pulled the first non-stop train between London and Edinburgh in 1928, but was retired from service by British Railways in 1963 and sold for preservation. It was bought and restored by Mr Marchington seven years ago.