How your money can put Flying Scotsman back on the rails

Published on Wednesday 21 January 2009 21:30

SOARING restoration costs have forced the owner of the world's most famous locomotive to launch a new public appeal to enable it to carry passengers again by next year.

The National Railway Museum in York is seeking a further 250,000 to get Flying Scotsman back on the rails because of increased copper prices and the poor state of its boiler.

Fans are being offered the chance to sponsor components, ranging from bolts at 25 to 100,000 for the outer firebox.

The 86-year-old steam locomotive, which ran between Edinburgh and London, was saved for the nation in 2004 after an appeal raised 2.6 million. The lion's share came from the lottery and Sir Richard Branson.

It had been expected that total would be sufficient to restore the engine, but the boiler was found to be in a worse condition than thought.

The new "Steam Our Scotsman" appeal is aimed at completing the restoration work by late spring 2010 – a year later than previously announced. Passenger tours will follow and are expected to include Scotland.

The museum said a huge amount of work had been done, but extra money was required to ensure the locomotive would continue running for years.

Jim Rees, its curator of rail vehicles, said: "Too often, financial constraints lead to the use of 'short-term fixes', with locomotives being repaired with no more foresight than the next seven or ten years of certification – the very opposite of our own aims and ambitions for Flying Scotsman."

He said it had been decided to repair the locomotive's A3 boiler "to the highest possible standard" rather than just for the short term. "The restoration has cost a great deal more than anticipated due to the poor condition of the boiler and the rising cost of copper," he said.

Andrew Scott, the museum's director, said: "We are hoping the people that helped us to save the most famous of locomotives in 2004 will now pledge their continued support to 'steam' her, and also that our quest to bring Scotsman back to Britain's tracks will strike a chord in a new generation of enthusiasts."

Flying Scotsman, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley in 1923, was the first locomotive to reach 100mph, in 1934. It operated on the east coast main line until Deltic diesel locomotives took over the route in 1959.

It subsequently achieved the record for the longest non-stop steam run, of 422 miles, on a tour of Australia in 1989.

Before it was bought by the railway museum, there had been plans to make Flying Scotsman the highlight of a heritage centre beside Waverley station in Edinburgh, but these fell through.