BBC Four - The Return of Flying Scotsman

Flying Scotsman for ten years it's been away undergoing a painstaking four million pound rebuild massive relief yeah there are been times when you think we'll never finish it for us to work on it it's quite a privilege dirty but a pretty nature the National Railway Museum celebrates with an emotional return to the main line and Scotsman speeding home to York the engines over 90 now since scotsman came to life in 1923 in a South Yorkshire engineering shed this machines become the stuff of legends it's been a celebrity locomotive more than any other locomotive that's ever being constructed in this country the first engine to officially clock a hundred miles an hour speed power beauty the first locomotive to run a regular non-stop passenger service from London to Edinburgh history from 1963 a string of private owners kept Scotsman alive and not buying it for me and buying it firm from Burton and it's fame took it round the world the locomotive has arrived in Australia lashed to the deck of a cargo ship in 2004 with the help of countless donations the National Railway Museum acquired the weary locomotive for the nation and they vowed to return the engine to its former glory we have to finish it we have to pour it back out and it have to be as good as it possibly could be now Scotsman's back on track the legend lives on [Music] Elsbeth is you into the station shortly early January and the press are gathering at Barry station on the East Lancashire railway like everyone else they're clamoring to catch a first glimpse of the world's favorite engine after a ten-year absence it'll undertake trial runs on this heritage line before if all goes well returning to mainline service the engines Castilians the National Railway Museum are planning a celebratory run from Kings Cross to York but before that it has to prove itself fit enough to make the distance it's been a long time away the blind scotsman is traveled many millions of miles since it was built in 1923 it was very very worn out and whilst you can hatch and mend a steam locomotive there comes a point when you have to literally strip it down to every nut bolt and rivet the boiler has been completely refurbished it's the 18th boiler that fryin scotsman has had in its history the frames have been stripped down and it was discovered that part of the frames were damaged so they had to replace the front third of the frame so this all had to be manufactured and assembled and lots of testing to make sure that everything is as it should be the engineers step forward to take a bow it's been a long haul to bring Flying Scotsman back to life they've leveraged care and attention on every single part of this grand old lady of steam it's probably the most extensive restoration of anything we want if that's been carried out to date the engine was very worn when the necessary museum took ownership of it basically all the working parts been renewed for steam enthusiasts these are sights and sounds that stir the blood I'm a grown man and I didn't sleep very well last night was such was my excitement and I think it creates that kind of excitement I was very tearful when I pulled into the station this morning to see such a great locomotive but we've not seen it for 10 years so we've been starved with this great locomotive and I think we're just so much anticipation to see it back on our UK rails again speed power beauty [Music] the press have had their sneak preview tomorrow the public will get their chance to ride behind this national treasure [Music] [Music] 4:15 on a bitterly cold Lancashire morning in the yard of locomotive engineers Riley and son they're firing up the engines for the first of two busy weekends on the East Lancashire railway wheels and bearings drink oil straight from the can until it's called the oils crawling at the wall [Applause] it's Jack Johnson's job to put fire in Scotsman's belly just 18 he's one of the country's young it's sometimes felt like Scotsman's been dragged kicking and screaming back onto the line it's been very stubborn this engine when I first started back here about a year and a half ago it was just a scattered piece of parts all over the floor like a big jigsaw puzzle we've had to cut my whole entire front end off and replace the cylinders and set the frames up - literally - down to the thousandths of an inch to keep everything straight in line has been very complicated and I had to go through a lot of procedures and engineering certification to get it to that point with such a radical overhaul some wonder whether much of the original 1923 Scotsman has actually survived last three-quarters of the frames are definitely original and the wheels are all original and the side rods and a lot of the parts we've been working on cleaning up have still had the original stamped numbers on it the majority of its original on the most important thing is its salt is original no matter how many pieces are materially changing a locomotive it'll always be that engine the steam locomotive in particular is a piece of metal various different forms ferrous and non-ferrous but when you put a fire in it that comes to life and it's just it takes on a whole different [Music] there's a nagging problem with the brakes so to be safe they run a second engine on every train just to assist and with every mile that Scotsman chokes up there's a growing confidence [Music] as the passenger trials begin every platform on the East Lancashire railway is packed fantastic tremendous earth-shattering frills what to see it absolutely appear is the big tears in there we expected a lot of people to come but wouldn't expect the numbers that have actually appeared we expect to over twenty twenty-five thousand passengers to have been on the railway this over this two weekends put that into context we carried about hundred and sixty thousand passengers last year this engine seems to cast a spell on people one of the most treasured scotsman souvenirs is a piece of coal from the tender stay back [Applause] the restoration has called on old skills to breathe new life into and this small Lancashire engineering company is now building an international reputation in steam expertise we overhaul see more courses to people all over the world really from the smallest component to complete law I wanted like Flying Scotsman I think this is the the biggest contract we've ever done and everything goes alright I think it'd be the best one we've ever done there's only 2 or 3 companies left in the United Kingdom and carry on this kind of work Riley's being the best of course every seat on every train was sold out weeks in advance and whatever their age everyone seems to feel the same about this glorious engine it's brilliant it's a legend discipline Scotsman everybody loves it those other great icons of British technology and transport like Concorde and the Queen Mary you no longer operate and you new can no longer travel on them you can travel bind the Flying Scotsman and that is so important to us the train line always went past the purple used to play in full bottles are with Steve dreads you stopped playing football to go more to train or passenger [Music] [Music] when I was a mid-teens all my friends had pictures of Elvis Presley on the bedroom wall I had a huge poster with the Flying Scotsman and so to be on it today is incredible it was the spaceship of its day it broke the hundred-mile record you know the passenger trials are a runaway success but in the excitement none of the crew forget exactly why they're doing this in the age of computers and iPads and tablets you need to have some sort of tangible machine so that people can see and the young kids can say I'm in this engine will still be running on hope well after I'm gone and it was running you know well before I was even thought about so it's important to keep history and nation's heritage along over the years the engine has appeared in several different liveries perhaps most familiar in apple-green sporting the number for 472 soon Scotsman will be painted green again but before that the engine will have to prove itself fit to run on the main line [Music] early February and Scotsman is finally starting those mainline trials it's pulling some lucky excursion passengers up the steep inclines from Lancashire to Cumbria and then returning on the scenic settle to Carlisle line it's crucial the engine performs well today with less than three weeks to go before the planned inaugural run veteran driver run Smith can finally let the Thoroughbred stretch its legs aiming to clock up the maximum allowed 75 miles an hour it's starting to feel a lot like the old days [Music] in its heyday the Flying Scotsman was the very height of glamour passengers enjoyed first-class service and all the mod cons dining car a cocktail lounge even a hairdressing salon today is Cumbrian mountains express offers a glimpse of what rail travel must have been like three generations ago [Music] it's less of a picnic by the trackside hundreds of steam enthusiasts lined the route frozen to the bone but glued to the view you can't believe the amount of people it's a standing watching the train come along and what's been standing there for hours some of them every field seems to have about ten people in the even though it said it's a cold wet dead February's why would you started a field for half of that with a four-year-old child under umbrella you tried to get a glimpse of this past that created the world you live in back at carlile some have been waiting for hours the sea scotsman glided the platform three it's a reminder of what a draw this black beast can still be you've only got to see all the people that were the kal-el when we run in I've never seen Carlisle like that ever and with being up in New Carlisle with some good engines over the years that I got the shock of my life when I when I approached carolallan so that tells you of the interest that is there so while it's gonna be like on its inaugural room I do not know runs spent his life around the steam engines it's in his family's blood he started his career wild scotsman was still in service and it's not the first time their paths have crossed I've been on the footplate since 1961 July and actually did work on this engine in sixty 1262 before she went now traffic in 63 and the father immigrant father both drivers all on the same engine works on its or three of us have now worked on this engine the father always thought their pleas were better than anything Jeremy still in there because you'd be quite impressed enough yeah what a pal good job back [Music] the engine's heading south now towards the yorkshire dales on the beautiful settled to Carlisle line before heading over the ruble head viaduct there's a stop for water at Appleby it's a chance for the engine to take a breather and the crew to take stock today it's been acceptable in fact the engine well as Neil virtually nil and she's real just like a Rolls Royce coming down the bank assembly fella know everything we could hope for you know the engines performed faultlessly really and you know we go up to 75 mile an hour and on the west coast main line which is really and you know it's it's kind of the culmination of you know 10 years of hard work by a lot a lot of people I've not earned at the Pacific sound like this puzzle from Amy because she would absolutely just sharp and clear you know saw the valves are absolutely the set perfectly [Music] there's lots of really lovely engines out there that run on this line you know at speed but Scottsman evokes memories in a way those those don't that means that what will fall on the front of us blows all this road past the window is a memory machine [Music] if you could have a penny for everybody what stir and everybody took a photograph you you could them my fault ever all of that once every two years Sir William MacAlpine knows all about ovals he footed the bill for two of them during the 23 years he owns Scotsman Sir William bought the engine from the previous owner Allen Pegler in 1973 rescuing it from San Francisco when it had ground to a halt at the end of an ill-fated tour of the states it was an unexpected chance to save Scotsman having to make his mind up straight away or risk the engine never returning it was wham bang you know if you want this think about it say yes tomorrow and the money had the opportunity and there wasn't any time yet - it was a instant decision but I thought well you know here's a to British icon I'm not buying it for me I'm buying it for Britain and I said yes [Music] I never really felt I had the answers I'm preparing a vulnerable to the in the pharmacy and I'm wondering what an ass am i doing you know I only sent you my thanks Eliot but I don't feel I am it a few I just got him trustfully until the nation [Music] she gave so much better than so many people well that was a wonderful feeling [Music] not everyone has a full-sized railway in their back garden but Sir William does it's a love of railways that's colored his life something he believes he shares with the great British public because we did invent one and then that railways condemned that deliberation Donnellan Industrial Revolution about member so I mean we have a lots of hours if you can rescue somebody think it's a wonderful thing to do definitely back with fondness and I'm a and it's wonderful to be able to enjoy it without having the responsibility of paying the bills these were the consents of the modern world I hope she can continue Lovington a long long time a [Music] week to go to the inaugural run Scotsman's mechanically sound and she's being pampered and creamed before tackling the busy main line between Kings Cross and York we're in good shape I mean we've proved the engine now you know it's done thousand miles got thousand miles onto its belt both on preserve railways and now on the main line - so we know that the engine does perform it can you know halt last trains over the steep gradients and now we're just looking forward to see where they run up from London they've brought in a team of craftsmen to make the engine look it's very best scotsman will be painted in the livery she was in when she left british rail service in 1963 it's a challenging job done in a very traditional way everything is brush paints that we do there's no spray painting involved it's all done by hand it's all done just through hard graft it is a huge amount of materials we use 20 litres of undercoat 30 litres of glass 20 litres of varnish 85 litres of white spirit thinners quite a lot of work in that quite a lot of man-hours and a lot of labour [Music] proud very much I think you know we've done a lot of high-profile jobs in our cutting our time but this is the absolute icing on the cake this is a pinnacle of a career from this point you can stand back and as a family I can take my kids we painted that we have painted the world's most famous locomotive [Music] great engines like this should always be done the traditional way a greater sense of pride doing it by hand to get it right and to get it looking pristine for when it dulls on its own our goal journey yeah this is special this is highlight of somebody's career I would think paint the Flying Scotsman with many people that have done that it gives a great sense of job satisfaction it's one of those things where not many people can see the fruits of the labor [Music] there's still only a handful of sign writers that have ever done it and I'm one [Music] massive relief massive relief yeah though I've been tons only think we'll never finish it we'll never ever finish it has just been so many setbacks but but now we are where we are in its pitch it's ready to go Battersea in London on the eve of the inaugural run Belmont British pullman is one of the few mainline depots where scotsman can be fed and watered it'll take onboard five tonnes of coal and almost 5000 gallons of water the crew and engineers are exhausted after working all hours to fix a broken spring which nearly scuppered the celebration but they're here ready and just a little nervous some of the lads back in the works they spent years on this engine and it's really fought them all the way and then tomorrow to see it out there for them seeing that you know it'd be good feeling it's good for us good for everyone to see it out there doing what his men are do [Music] Kings Cross the inaugural run has become a global media event in abysus Eve with reporters and cameramen rubbing shoulders with passengers and the greater the good it's been a long time since Scotsmen graced the platforms here but slowly she rolls in like she has never been away and now the old girls ready for her close-up it's the start of an epic 200 mile journey which I'll need five hours and two foot paid crews to get the train to York there's hundreds here to see Flying Scotsman head home and a bit thousands more lining the route [Music] in the passenger carriages men with sore hands and old skills put their feet up and enjoy some well-earned first-class service it's the end of a ten-year struggle Cinderella didn't want to go to the ball but we were determined Cinderella was going you know whether to a kick in the legs or not and there she is today she's really like a sewing machine and all that that is it you know she's sweet you sound sweet everything's will have the right temperatures perfect it's been an uphill challenge but we're finally there the look the sweat the tears his physical blood sweat and tears you know you hurt yourself you cut yourself you bleed you have your ad in your hands at some point we think oh my god we've got all this to do and it's give the injured a new lease of life doing all that work Allen pegler saved Scotsman from the Breakers yard in 1963 today's run is a poignant journey for his daughter it is absolutely wonderful I just hope that my dad is looking down this is what he wanted the people to go on enjoying the engine and the fact that it's going off was to the museum is fantastic because it's to be enjoyed now for generations to come which was really what he wanted he would be very very happy through Doncaster now where Scotsman began life all those years ago a survivor against all the odds it was originally built in this country and it was rebuilt in this country to retain the Flying Scotsman forever and ever [Music] York journey's end at the warmest of Yorkshire welcomes [Music] you probably off [Music] [Music] [Music] now it's just a short hop to the National Railway Museum [Music] [Applause] Flying Scotsman is finally home [Music] tiring but we've we've made it so we're very very happy we've overcome the odds this week and and you know got the engine ready got it we got it I've got it up here on the front of the train so very relieved but content and happy as well [Music] you

Channel: Henry Kelsall

Views: 929,470

Rating: 4.9242754 out of 5

Keywords: Flying Scotsman, BR Steam, Gresley, A3 Pacific, Steam Railways, East Lancs Railway, Steam Gala

Id: fR2kHoPsBHI

Length: 29min 9sec (1749 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 16 2018