It was on 30 November 1934 that Flying Scotsman achieved the first properly authenticated 100mph for a steam engine. This was while she was running between Leeds and London.
On 30 November 1934 his Flying Scotsman, an A1 Pacific, was the first steam locomotive to officially exceed 100mph in passenger service, a speed exceeded by the A4 Mallard on 3 July 1938 at 126mph, a record that still stands.
On 3 July 1938, the A4 class locomotive Mallard raced down Stoke Bank at 126mph to set a new steam locomotive world speed record. That record still stands.
The Flying Scotsman express from Edinburgh Waverley to London King's Cross failed to slow down for a diversion and derailed. Twenty-eight people were killed, including the talented Scottish biochemist, John Masson Gulland.
West Coast Railways, operators of 'The Jacobite', provided the steam engine and carriages for the 'Hogwarts Express' as seen in the 'Harry Potter' films including 'The Philosopher's Stone' and others in this wonderful series of films. Some of the carriages of 'The Jacobite' are those used in the 'Harry Potter' films.
3440, City of Truro, which was built at the Swindon Works in May 1903, was hauling a mail train from Plymouth to London in May 1904 when it reached a claimed top speed of just over 102 mph.
The longest UK train journey is Aberdeen to Penzance. Covering 785 miles, this train journey takes about 13 hours and 20 minutes to complete (give or take a few minutes). It has 36 stops and spends about two hours in total waiting for passengers to embark and disembark at each railway station along the way.
In 1924, all LNER locomotives were renumbered and Flying Scotsman was given a new number, the iconic 4472. In 1946 it was briefly renumbered 502 for just five months before settling as the 103 till 1948. In 1948 it was then renumbered the 60103 which is the number it carries today.
During 2023, as well as days out on the mainline, Flying Scotsman can be seen at free static events at the National Railway Museum and other locations. The iconic loco will also be in action at a number of heritage railways around the UK and at Locomotion in Shildon.
While the Jacobite Steam Train is the train that probably most closely resembles the Hogwarts Express of the films, legend has it that another Muggle train inspired J.K. Rowling: the Flying Scotsman. This train usually links Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, with London's King's Cross station.
The Hogwarts Express is in fact a famous (and highly photogenic) steam train, The Jacobite, taking passengers 135 kilometres through mysteriously misty lochs and the green hills of the Scottish Highlands. It doesn't just look like the famously magical train, it is the actual vehicle used for filming.
The first Gresley class P2 No.2001 was completed in 1934 by the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) at its Doncaster works. It was the most powerful express passenger steam locomotive ever built for a British railway.
Worldwide. The world's busiest passenger station, with a passenger throughput of 3.5 million passengers per day (1.27 billion per year), is Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.