Since the National Railway Museum acquired Flying Scotsman the locomotive has undergone a huge amount of work to make her fit to run on the main line again. The current major overhaul started in January 2006 and work is taking place at specialist engineers across the UK, as well as in the Workshop at the National Railway Museum.
At the heart of the restoration process has been the overhaul of the boiler, which has presented more than one challenge to the dedicated engineers bringing No.4472 back into main line steam.
Curator of Rail Vehicles, Jim Rees, explains:
"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.
"When the museum acquired the engine it was carrying a boiler from an A4 (this was commonly done in BR days) that it had been fitted with in the 1970s. It also came with an A3 boiler that it had carried from 1964 until that date.
"The A4 boiler was in poor condition, having had many repairs and alterations, some conventional and recorded, others less so, so we decided to repair the A3 boiler, not just for the short term, but to the highest possible standard."
The restoration has cost a great deal more than anticipated due to the poor condition of the boiler and the rising cost of copper - hence the need for a public appeal to "Steam Our Scotsman."
With your help, we hope that Flying Scotsman will be back running passenger services in 2010 and will be able to continue running services for many years to come.
You can also visit the Museum to find out more about the Flying Scotsman. We have a fascinating permanent exhibition ‘The Flying Scotsman Story’ and some of the restoration work is also taking place in our Museum Workshop. Join us for a daily Workshop round up talk explaining the latest news about the restoration and other conservation projects, or view the restoration project from the Workshop balcony.
Please telephone 0844 815 3139 to check on Flying Scotman’s whereabouts before making a special journey.
We will be posting more updates about the restoration project here over coming months.