Flying Scotsman to appear at Greatest Gathering event

Flying Scotsman will appear at the world’s largest gathering of historic and modern railway vehicles in August.

Train manufacturer Alstom announced that the locomotive will be part of the Greatest Gathering event at its factory in Derby.

Up to 30,000 people are expected to attend the event, which runs from August 1-3.

An additional 2,500 tickets for each day will be available from 9am on Friday.

Flying Scotsman was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and built in Doncaster.

Its achievements include hauling the inaugural non-stop London to Edinburgh train service in 1928, and becoming the UK’s first locomotive to reach 100mph six years later.

Rob Whyte, managing director at Alstom UK and Ireland, said: “Flying Scotsman’s attendance is a powerful tribute to Britain’s steam legacy and a moment of railway history not to be missed.

“While we proudly honour icons of the past, like Flying Scotsman, we also hope the Greatest Gathering will ignite the imagination of tomorrow’s engineers, as we showcase the latest sustainable and digital rail innovations across our Derby site.”

Craig Bentley, director of the National Railway Museum, which owns Flying Scotsman, said: “Flying Scotsman has captured the public’s imagination for over a century.

“We are proud to be able to share this icon of the track, along with other historically significant locomotives from the national collection, at this landmark event.”

More than 50 rolling stock exhibits from the past, present and future of the railways will be on display, featuring a combination of those powered by steam, diesel and electricity.

This includes the 200-year-old Locomotion No.1, which was the first locomotive to run on the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) line in north-east England.

The Greatest Gathering forms part of Britain’s wider Railway 200 festivities.

The industry is engaging in a year-long celebration to mark the opening of the S&DR on September 27 1825, which is credited as being the birth of the modern railway.