Shropshire grandson's delight as Scotsman to fly once more
The Shropshire grandson of legendary train designer Sir Nigel Gresley today spoke of his delight that one of his grandfather's most famous locomotives will this week run again following a 10-year restoration.
Tim Godfrey, from Claverley, said he was thrilled to hear that The Flying Scotsman would be making its first journey in more than a decade on Friday.
The 92-year-old engine, which is officially recorded as the first locomotive to reach 100mph, will undergo its first test runs on the East Lancashire Railway in Bury on Friday and Saturday.
The trials follow a painstaking £4.2 million restoration by the National Railway Museum in York.
Mr Godfrey, who lives in Hopstone, will not be present for the test run, but said he was looking forward to seeing the loco back in action soon.
"It will be a proud moment, I'm really glad it is going to be running once more," he said.
"It is about time, it's taken long enough. It's been a major job, and it will be great to see it running again."
Mr Godfrey, 78, said the LNER Class A3 locomotive would be coming to the Severn Valley Railway in September.
"I am hoping to see it before then," he added.
The Flying Scotsman was built at LNER's Doncaster works in 1923. In 1934 it was officially recorded as reaching 100mph. The rival Great Western Railway claimed its City of Truro achieved the feat in 1904, but it was never officially authenticated. Sir Nigel went on to design the Class A4 locomotive Mallard, which in 1938 set the record for the fastest steam locomotive of all time when it reached 126mph – a record that has never been beaten.
The Flying Scotsman was retired by British Rail in 1963, having clocked up more than two million miles. In 1989, while operating in Australia, it set the record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran for 422 miles.
