Flying Scotsman...The Restoration 1996-1999

Tidying my home office, had a peek at this 2003 large format book that I boight then for £125.

Copy 82 of a limited edition of 1500.

It documents the restoration of the loco over the 3 years after it was bought for £1.3M by Tony Marchington. Interesting stuff if you like engineering or trains or both.

However, while the book is a record it doesnt capture what a failure this was as by 2004, a year after this book was published, it was up for sale again as it needed.....restoring.

In it's history all it's owners, Pete Waterman included, have bemoaned what a money pit it is.

In 2004 the Nation bought it through the lottery and Yorkshire Based National Railway Museum admitted defeat and sent it to Rileys in Bury, Lancashire to restore it properly. A dig to my sister and her yorkshireman husband.

That took 10 years and in 2014 it steamed again on the East Lancs fully restored. Works now.

Bit of a granddads brush really, not too much is original but it's spirit is and its the most famous steam engine in the world.

Give me an A4 or City of Wells any day, or that little pug 52018 going over Healey Dell Viaduct...

Photos by Harry Scotting.