The Cathedrals Express will be taking over 200 Flying Scotsman fans on a trip to Preston and the Lake District from London Victoria, double-headed by 60103 Flying Scotsman and 45212 Black Five!
60103 Flying Scotsman has been described as the most famous steam locomotive in the world.
Built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley, it was employed on long-distance express trains on the LNER and its successors, British Railways Eastern and North-Eastern Regions, notably on the London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman train service after which it was named.
The locomotive set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) on 30 November 1934, and then setting a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 422 miles (679 km) on 8 August 1989 while in Australia.
Retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 2,076,000 miles (3,341,000 km), Flying Scotsman gained considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of Alan Pegler, William McAlpine, Tony Marchington and finally the National Railway Museum (NRM). As well as hauling enthusiast specials in the United Kingdom, the locomotive toured extensively in the United States and Canada (from 1969 to 1973) and Australia (from 1988 to 1989).
To find out more about the Flying Scotsman, go to www.flyingscotsman.org.uk.
LMS Stanier Black Five 45212 was built at Armstrong Whitworth in 1935, returned to the mainline in 2017.
45212 is one of 842 ‘Black Fives’, as they became affectionately known, built for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. It is one 18 members of the class to survive into preservation.
The engine started life in Bradford and was withdrawn from Lostock Hall (Preston) in 1968 but not before having the distinction of heading the final steam-hauled revenue-earning service for British Railways on 4th August 1968.
45212 is owned by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and is normally based there. In 2017, it was fitted with the necessary equipment for main line running and was certified for main line use.
Its return to the mainline featured trips with The Cathedrals Express, as well as on the famous Jacobite service over the West Highland Line, well known as the setting for the Harry Potter films
