Flying Scotsman’s history & dreamy suites

I have travelled the vast widths of Australia and Canada by very comfortable trains, and long parts of France and India by comfortable trains. But never on The Flying Scotsman, which was the world's most famous train service.

In 1860, 3 companies established the East Coast Joint Stock for services using common trains, and it is from this agreement that the Flying Scotsman arrived. After WW1 the British government grouped the surviving rail companies into 4 regions. London North Eastern Railway-LNER arrived with the creation of the Big Four new railway companies. They were divided geographically,  due to over-lapping land and routes - LNER largely served the eastern side of the UK from London up to Scotland, but it competed with the London Midland & Scottish Railway which served the west coast route. They in turn were competing with the other regions to encourage passengers to use their services; each promoted their distinct style and region. The Flying Scotsman holds the record for hauling the first nonstop London-Edinburgh service in 1928. It was the first locomotive to reach 100mph in 1934 and the first steam engine to travel globally, to a U.S World Exhibition and Australia on the container ship NZ Pacific.                                                                            

Grand bagpipe welcome to the train

The Flying Scotsman is one of the Pacific type express tender locomotives built in Doncaster from designs by Sir Nigel Gresley, LNER’s head mechanical engineer. They were the most powerful steam locomotives used by the LNER railway on the fastest and heaviest express passenger trains between London and Edinburgh.

In 1924 it was selected for the British Empire Exhibition in London. It was one of 12 Pacific type locomotives in service on the east coast main line that year, with another 40 awaiting delivery.

The new locomotive was built in 1930 and called the Royal Scot in time for it to tour the USA in 1933. It was built for the London Midland and Scottish Railway to compete against the LNER Flying Scotsman. The difference was that the Royal Scot ran along the West Coast Main Line, while Flying Scotsman ran along the East Coast Main Line.

By WW1 railway posters crammed as much information about a railway service and its destination as possible. Posters were full of text, and the results were seen as quite unintelligible at a distance. Then LNER appointed its first Advertising Manager in 1923, and a month after the Co. was formed, they introduced a poster advertising campaign. Soon all the railway Cos were employing the best contemporary artists to create striking new works each year.

Travel through the Scottish Highlands

 

Both the Royal Scot and Flying Scotsman embodied the height of steam railway engineering then. They were the flagship locomotives for their railway companies. Thus they were the stars of their advertising campaigns, which took the form of large posters. Timing was every! Art Deco railway art was a serious field of commercial art & design that launched in the 1920s and peaked in the 1930s. The railways saw art and design embrace industry for the first time in a very modern style. Art Deco was obsessed with travel, speed and new forms of transport that saw land, air and water speed records being broken regularly. Aptly, artists sought to convey luxury, movement and speed in the new style.

Typically railway poster art focused on pleasant images of destinations. Sunny resorts, beaches, golf courses, quaint towns & rural scenes, were their favourites. But the railway companies were always keeping an eye on their competitors, trying to create impact with their designs, which the new Art Deco style achieved. In 1929 the Public Relations & Advertising Officer for Southern Railways prepared the Take me by the Flying Scotsman poster, a classic then.

The Royal Scot Euston to Glasgow & Edinburgh poster was created by artist P Irwin Brown for rival company LMS in 1931. It depicted the locomotive head-on, racing towards the viewer. The palette was limited to white, grey and black, with vivid red & yellow highlights. The block art deco lettering of the title combined with the colours make for bold, eye-catching graphic design. It is an image of power and modernity through industry and engineering.

The National Museums Scotland has fine examples of art depicting 2 of the most famous locomotives from Steam’s Golden Age. #1 is the original art work for London North Eastern Railway/LNER’s advertising campaign from mid 1932, Take me by the Flying Scotsman, by artist A R Thomson. #2 is an enormous billboard poster for the Royal Scot. Thomson created new works focusing on the scale of the bl-ack shiny Flying Scotsman locomotive.

They wanted to show speed conveyed in the Art Deco style, very different from traditionally showed pleasant images of the holiday destination. Now the goal was to show the experience of train travel itself! Despite its artistic merits, when the poster was displayed on station platforms it was not as popular with the public as Southern Railway’s design.

Facilities Being greeted by an official bagpipe player was a signature tradition for the Royal Scotsman. Guests were typically piped onto the train by a kilted Pipe Major, especially while departing from Edinburgh, and offered champagne once they were in one of the lounges.

 double bed and separate living room in Grand Suite

Ensuite bathroom and cupboards in Grand Suite

The 4 Grand Suites were expanded & renovated in 2024, elegant and very expensive. They feature a large fixed double bed, complete ensuite bathroom, 2 wardrobes, living space with a table, sofa and two chairs, opening windows and a service call-button. Most people sleep very well, as the train remains in quiet sidings at night. And guests receive luxurious perks eg private dining if requested, and private arrival and departure transfers to the train station. With the addition of the Bamford Haybarn spa car, the train stands out even more. The 9 twin-bedded cabins and 5 double-bedded cabins are on the same luxury level as the grand suites. 

Formal dinner tables

Royal Scotsman

 

With the small venue and few passengers, Belmond Royal Scotsman is great for those wanting for a more intimate, luxury setting with gourmet dining. Welcome-aboard champagnes are offered and sparkling mimosas. Two-course lunches, 6-course dinners and selected wines are served in elegant mahogany clad dining cars. Lounges feature comfortable, plush interiors, and coffees and afternoon teas are served during the journey. Features can include customised off-train excursions eg private visits to estates.

Observation car

Vogue

In 2004, the train was purchased by the National Railway Museum, and restored to working order in 10 years, costing £4.2 million.