YORK - The Flying Scotsman, a 93-year-old steam locomotive and jewel of British industrial heritage, set off from London on Thursday on its first official journey since a painstaking restoration.
The train streamed through the English countryside on its inaugural journey to York billowing white smoke as passengers enjoyed a champagne breakfast in old-fashioned carriages with wooden compartments. Train enthusiasts lined the track in some areas and at one point near the town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire the locomotive was forced to come to a sudden stop because of dozens of people on the line.
‘I think the steam trains have got this bit of extraordinary character to them,’ said Paul Jubb, a 58-year-old fan from Birmingham who was among the 300 donors and enthusiasts aboard locomotive 60103. Jubb said he had ‘very fond memories’ of steam trains form his childhood, adding: ‘I never imagined one moment that nearly half a century later I’d be lucky enough to get to go on this famous train!’ Sitting on plush velvety seats behind white tablecloths, passengers tucked into their porridge, sipped tea and quaffed champagne. Staff were dressed in green uniforms - the same colours of the former national railway agency in which the locomotive has been painted. The 97-tonne engine pulled out of King’s Cross Station at 0740 GMT to applause from a crowd of enthusiasts who had come to witness its rebirth after a restoration that has lasted a decade. The Flying Scotsman was bound for York, a historic city some 280 kilometres (175 miles) north of London, where it will stay in the city’s National Railway Museum until the beginning of March. The train will then spend the coming months on tourist trips and featuring in exhibitions. Restoring the famous engine cost around £4.2 million (5.3 million euros, $5.8 million). Thursday was the locomotive’s first official outing since it returned to the rails last January in Bury, northwest England, for a series of tests. ‘It’s a historic day,’ said Paul Kirkman, director of the National Railway Museum. ‘This celebratory journey marks a new stage in this steam icon’s long and colourful history, and is a tribute to all the people who have worked so hard to make this happen, from those that have worked on the restoration itself to the public that donated to our appeal to bring this legend back to life.’