The Flying Scotsman leaves King’s Cross

The Flying Scotsman, one of the world’s most famous locomotives, painted in its traditional British Rail colours, is making the journey from London King’s Cross to York where it will go on display at the National Railway Museum (NRM). It departed King’s Cross as scheduled at 07:40 GMT and is heading up the East Coast mainline on a non-stop run. The steam engine, which was retired from service in 1963, has been restored for the NRM in a decade costing £4.2million refit, which cost only £7,944 to build in 1922. It is the first UK locomotive to reach 100mph in 1934. The 8 hours first non-stop London to Edinburgh, Flying Scotsman, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, started in 1928. It is 70 feet  (21m) long, weighs about 96 tonnes and had a top speed of 100mph and has travelled 2, 500, 000miles. During the World War II, it was repainted wartime black.

Crowds gathered at King’s Cross and thousands expected along the route with many passenger paying £450 for the privilege of travelling on the train in this epic journey. The locomotive has undergone several test runs through Cumbria and Lancashire earlier this year.