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Steam Again in Devon

Steam Again in Devon - the Iconic Flying Scotsman

Amateur film 1973 1 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for South West Film and Television Archive

Overview

The famous green steam locomotive the Flying Scotsman 4472 returns to tour along the English Riviera at Torbay with a distinct 1970s wish you are here picture postcard feel. A steam train still operates on part of this line from Paignton at Goodrington Sands to Dartmouth. Operated by London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) from 1923 the Flying Scotsman was put up for scrap by British Rail in 1962 and survived a further 10 years before being shipped to tour in America and Canada.

The Flying Scotsman famed for its London to Edinburgh journey is part of our popular culture; it appears in a 1929 film of the same; in 2000, the trusty locomotive prepares to haul the Orient Express in 102 Dalmatians; it features in Rev. W. Awdry's the Railway Series Books; it is a Hornby bestseller; it stars in a British Rail TV advert in 1986; it is an engraving on the London 2012 Olympics special edition five pound coin; and is the name of a Ceilidh dance! In 1934, it breaks the land speed record for rail achieving 100 miles an hour and in 1989 sets the record in Australia for the longest nonstop run at 422 miles. Built by the Doncaster Railway Works it is now in York's National Railway Museum (NRM).