Flying Scotsman locomotive to make three Scottish trips in May

The Flying Scotsman locomotive will add a third trip when it returns to Scotland in May, operators announced today.
Flying Scotsman crossing the Forth Bridge. Picture: Steam DreamsFlying Scotsman crossing the Forth Bridge. Picture: Steam Dreams
Flying Scotsman crossing the Forth Bridge. Picture: Steam Dreams

Tickets go on sale at 9am tomorrow for the excursions from Edinburgh on Sunday 20 May.

The third annual visit by the locomotive since its restoration will see it again haul the Cathedrals Express over the Forth Bridge and round the Fife Circle - but this time three times

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Operator Steam Dreams has pledged to make the visits annual events after carrying nearly 800 passengers during last year's two trips.

Founder Marcus Robertson said: “We are delighted to be working with Flying Scotsman north of the Border once again.

"Athough she was built in England, it feels very much that the loco is a Scottish icon, and last year’s trips were fantastically popular and earned Scotland publicity all over the world.

“We hope that by offering three trips over the Forth Bridge this year, rather than two, it will allow as many people as possible to experience the magic of this special ‘celebrity’ engine.”

Fares range from £79 in premium standard to £225 in Pullman-style dining.

The 95-year-old locomotive, reputedly the most famous in the world, was designed by Edinburgh-born Sir Nigel Gresley to haul the same-named Edinburgh-London express on the east coast main line.

It was the first steam locomotive to reach 100 miles per hour, in 1934, and set a record for the longest non-stop run, of 422 miles in Australia in 1989.

The engine was restored at a cost of more than £4 million by the National Railway Museum in York.