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Flying Scotsman (T&F)

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The Flying Scotsman is an LNER Class A3 Pacific, formerly an LNER Class A1 Pacific.

Biography[]

Flying Scotsman once visited Sodor and his two tenders appeared emerging out of Brendam. The engines, with the exception of Henry, admired his two tenders, which the Fat Controller said were due to long distances between coaling depots. Flying Scotsman was not referred to by name and Gordon did not appear to recognise him.

Much later, Flying Scotsman met Thomas at Vicarstown station, where he told him and Gordon that he had been invited to participate in the Great Railway Show on the Mainland. At the show, he saw his young brother, Gordon in his streamlined form and was shocked, but still started to tease Gordon. He later competed in the Great Race, alongside Gordon, Spencer, Axel and Etienne. During the race, Flying Scotsman tried to warn Gordon that he was overheating, but Gordon paid no attention to him until his boiler had burst and he could not finish the race. Despite trying hard to win, he finished the race fourth, behind Etienne, Spencer and Axel. At the end of the Great Railway Show, Flying Scotsman and Gordon returned to the yard, where he admitted to Gordon that his view on Sudrian engines had improved since their race.

Flying Scotsman was the first engine to encounter Ace and had to avoid him running on the tracks instead of the road. Later that day, when Thomas tricked Gordon into taking his fish trucks for him at the back of the express, Flying Scotsman commented on the smell, jokingly wondering whether it was coming from Gordon or the fish. This sent Gordon yelling in rage at Thomas’ stunt.

When Rebecca was new to Sodor, she arrived too early at Vicarstown and almost took Flying Scotsman's passengers by mistake. He questioned who was behind him, sarcastically thinking it was Gordon. He then preceded to tease Gordon, calling him "little brother". Later that same evening, Flying Scotsman arrived back at Vicarstown and called Gordon "little brother" again. As a result, Rebecca commented on how she thought Gordon may be a bit bigger, leaving Flying Scotsman gobsmacked.

Later he was seen passing by Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt so fast that it caused Sir Topham's hat to blow off and get crushed by a suitcase.

Personality[]

In the Thomas & Friends television series, Flying Scotsman is a polite and proud engine; however, he can be pompous and somewhat smug, similar to his younger brother Gordon. Despite being friendly with Thomas and giving him a pep talk, he thought that no famous engines came from Sodor and indicated that he viewed Sudrian engines with low expectations. He later changed his mind after seeing the Sudrian engines competing at the Great Railway Show, realising they were made of "sterner stuff" than he initially believed. Additionally, after meeting Rebecca for the second time, her opinion on the "little brother" status left something he never expected while giving Gordon a big laugh at the same time.

Flying Scotsman has a common sibling relationship with Gordon, and enjoys teasing him, referring to him as his "little brother" to annoy him, using his catchphrase as his own, or bragging about being invited to the Great Railway Show. He does care for him though, as shown when Gordon was overheating during the race and Flying Scotsman urgently warned him to stop.

Technical Details[]

Real-life History[]

Flying Scotsman is based upon the real locomotive of the same name, an A1 (later A3) Pacific built on the 23 February 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works. Flying Scotsman set two world records for steam traction, initially becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) on 30th November 1934. In 1963 it was saved by Alan Pegler and in 1969 it toured the United States of America but almost never returned home, but did because of Bill McAlpine in 1972. It later set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive, where it ran 422 miles (approximately 679 km) on 8 August 1989 during its tour in Australia. As of 2019, Flying Scotsman is owned by the National Railway Museum, and can be found hauling main line railtours and visiting heritage railways across the United Kingdom. Gordon and Flying Thistle are other members of this class.

Livery[]

In the Thomas & Friends television series, Flying Scotsman's livery is largely similar to that in the Railway Series, but with several differences. He is painted in LNER apple, black with red lining (instead of green with black and white lining), plain red frames (instead of black frames with red lining). Flying Scotsman's front buffer beam in the Thomas & Friends television series is also missing several details, including his number and extra lining. Additionally, the lining on his tenders varies between his appearances in the model and CGI series. The sides of Flying Scotsman's cab in the television series also have his number 4472 painted on them instead of the crests, as well as extra lining which is not present on the real locomotive's apple green livery.

This livery is based on a variation of the apple green livery worn by the real Flying Scotsman during the late-1960s, the same time period in which Flying Scotsman first appeared in The Railway Series.

Appearances[]

Thomas & Friends

Specials

Music Videos

Learning Segments

Videos

Storytime

Official Description[]

From Official Media:[1]

“ Flying Scotsman: The Flying Scotsman is a good friend of Gordon, and was brought to the Island by Sir Topham Hatt to help cheer up Gordon when he was feeling down. The Flying Scotsman has two tenders because on his railway, "coal and water are not as available as on Sir Topham Hatt's railway."


Fun Fact: The Flying Scotsman was the second engine to go 100 miles an hour.

”

From Official Website:[2]

“ Flying Scotsman: The Flying Scotsman is one of the most famous engines in the world. A large steam locomotive with two tenders, the Flying Scotsman holds the record for being the first engine to officially run at 100 mph. The Flying Scotsman has traveled to Sodor before where he met with his brother Gordon. Now the brothers will compete against each other to see who is the fastest in the Great Race. ”

Audio Files[]

Whistle[]

Flying Scotsman reuses Gordon's whistle at a slightly lower pitch.

First used Last used Sound Effect
The Great Race Series 22 File:Flying Scotsman's Whistle.ogg

Trivia[]

  • Flying Scotsman was intended to have a larger role in the third series episode, Tender Engines; however, due to high build costs and reasons of budgeting, the modelling crew could not afford to build the entire engine.[3]
  • In the CGI series, Flying Scotsman's double tenders incorrectly have six wheels each, as opposed to the eight wheels each on the real-life Flying Scotsman's tenders. Interestingly however, in real-life, when Flying Scotsman attended the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park from April 1924 to November 1925, it was fitted with a standard LNER six-wheel tender from a former LNER 'K3' Class 2-6-0 tender engine.
  • Flying Scotsman is the only engine to be re-introduced in the CGI series after a period of absence.
  • In the model series, Flying Scotsman's double tenders were simply just two locomotive tenders coupled together; whereas in the CGI series, his first tender is a normal tender whilst his second tender is a water carrier. However, they both lack their corridor connections.
  • In the CGI series the lining on his double tenders is incorrectly shaped as if they were for a Fowler tender, an error that first appeared on his Hornby model.
  • In The Great Race, Flying Scotsman is shown to be able to move his smoke deflectors backwards and forwards, a feature which is not present on the real Flying Scotsman.
  • Flying Scotsman's coal tender was later reused for Duchess.
  • Flying Scotsman's Ertl and Hornby toys depict him without his second tender. Additionally, his ERTL toy depicts him with a Fowler tender, due to reusing Gordon's tooling.
  • Unlike the other TrackMaster/Motorized tender engines, Flying Scotsman is exclusively available as a three-pack engine, whereas most other engines eventually trickle down to two-packs. This is so that the Flying Scotsman still retains his signature double-tender status.
  • The Flying Scotsman never received smoke deflectors and two tenders at the same time in real-life.

Merchandise[]

Video[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Magazines
  2. ↑ Character Encyclopedia
  3. ↑ Steve Asquith's interview with Sodor Island Fansite


External links[]

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