24 February 2022
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The Flying Scotsman went into service with the LNER - On this day in history
The Flying Scotsman locomotive went into service with the London & North Eastern Railway on 24 February 1923.
On 24 February 1923, the Flying Scotsman locomotive went into the service of the London & North Eastern Railway. The train became the first to travel non-stop between Edinburgh and London and the first to reach speeds of 100 mph. The service had been running between Edinburgh and London since 1862 and was originally known as the 'Special Scotch Express'. The original journey time between Edinburgh and London was 10.5 hours and by 1938, this had been cut to less than 7.5 hours.
The train was built in 1923 at Doncaster Works and was designed by H N Gresley. It hauled the first non-stop London to Edinburgh run on 1 May 1928, travelling the 392 miles in eight hours.
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