Tickets for return of Flying Scotsman to go on sale to public as steam legend nears return

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Flying Scotsman tickets to go on sale on Friday from the National Railway Museum

The public will be able to ride behind the Flying Scotsman as one of the world’s most famous trains repeats its record-eclipsing journey between London and York, on which it broke the land speed record in 1934, organisers at the National Railway Museum have announced.

An inaugural run between Kings Cross and York, where the locomotive known for its glamour hit the world record of 100mph on November 30 2015, will be followed by another route between late March and May, Service with Style, using three carriages similar to the ones used on the route.

A free concurrent exhibition, Stunts, Speed and Style, will also allow fans on board the cabs of four locomotives which hauled business and leisure travellers between London and Edinburgh from the late 1890s.

“Our line-up explores the beginnings of the high speed service in the 19th century through to the post-steam era,” says Kate Hunter, the Museums Event Manager, who expects tickets to shift quickly when they go on sale on Friday.

“An LNER dynamometer car behind our star attraction tells the story of its record-breaking reputation.

“If stepping on board Flying Scotsman’s cab isn’t enough, visitors can board the Flying Scotsman train and fully immerse themselves in the glamour and allure of the world’s longest–established express train throughout the ages.”

The Flying Scotsman will travel the UK as a working museum exhibit following a £4.2 million restoration project which is entering its final stages. Test runs, complete with a black undercoat, will take place at the East Lancashire Railway in January before journeys to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in Pickering in March, on the mainline to Scotland in May and along the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster in September.

The dates will mark the return of the locomotive to Scotland for the first time in 16 years. Coinciding with the launch of a new-look, Flying Scotsman-styled train announced by Virgin Trains, the carriages will include archive news footage, with separate events planned for visitors wanting to photograph the train without crowds.

• Visit nrm.org.uk/flyingscotsman for full programme details. Tickets available from November 6.

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Three places to see railway history at

Middleton Railway, Leeds
Having been established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, the Middleton Railway, Leeds, can claim to be the oldest working Railway in the world. It also played host to the first commercially successful, revenue earning, steam locomotives which entered service there in 1812.

Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Aylesbury
Founded in 1969 by the London Railway Preservation Society, the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is one of the leading steam museums in the country; covering 25 acres, the collection of steam locomotives and other railway vehicles is one of the largest outside the National Railway Museum.

Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, Gwynedd
The Ffestiniog Railway is the Oldest Independent Railway Company in the World. Travel by steam through the spectacular scenery of the Snowdonia National Park, between Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/transport-and-industry/art540675-flying-scotsman-tickets-go-sale-national-railway-museum-york