Flying Scotsman (train)
91101 at Edinburgh Waverley in October 2015
|
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Passenger train |
| First service | 1862 (service) 1924 (name) |
| Current operator(s) | Virgin Trains East Coast |
| Former operator(s) |
East Coast National Express East Coast GNER InterCity East Coast British Rail London & North Eastern Railway |
| Route | |
| Start | Edinburgh |
| End | London King's Cross |
| Distance travelled | 392 miles |
| Average journey time | 4 hours |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train number(s) | 1E01 |
| Line used | East Coast |
| Technical | |
| InterCity 225 | |
| Operating speed | 125 mph |
The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has operated between Edinburgh and London, the capitals of Scotland and England via the East Coast Main Line. The service began in 1862, but it wasn't until 1924 that the name was officially adopted. It is currently operated by Virgin Trains East Coast.
The East Coast Main Line over which the Flying Scotsman runs was built in the 19th century by many small railway companies, but mergers and acquisitions led to only three companies controlling the route; the North British Railway (NBR), the North Eastern Railway (NER) and the Great Northern Railway (GNR). In 1860 the three companies established the for through services using common vehicles, and it is from this agreement that the Flying Scotsman came about.
The first Special Scotch Express ran in 1862, with simultaneous departures at 10:00 from the GNR's London King's Cross and the NBR's Edinburgh Waverley. The original journey took 10 1⁄2 hours, including a half-hour stop at York for lunch; however, increasing competition and improvements in railway technology saw this time reduced to 8 1⁄2 hours by the time of the Race to the North in 1888.
From 1896, the train was modernised, introducing such features as corridors between carriages, heating, and dining cars. As passengers could now take luncheon on the train, the York stop was reduced to 15 minutes, but the end-to-end journey time remained 8 1⁄2 hours. Like the earlier carriages built for the service, this rolling stock was jointly owned by the three operating companies, and formed part of the pool known as the .
...
Wikipedia