Flying Scotsman

The third one WAS found at York when the wheels were out, the other 2 were I think tender springs and they were found at ELR.

 

I stand corrected about broken springs, but it is correct to say that there was no mention of having to remove a wheelset, take it back to bury to skim the scored bits.
However, as others have said, an excellent thirty minute film that was balanced in its coverage of Scotsman's somewhat chequered history of ownership since 1963.

Was it Scotsman that reduced Alan Peglar to a penniless man when he died, or was that due to other business interests? We owe Mr Peglar a lot for first saving the locomotive.

 

Good to see that the cameraman for the night shots at Baron Street Shed appreciated the fine lines of 34092!

 

Yes, a fine piece of Spammage.

 

I spotted myself in the documentary twice - once at King's Cross and then again at York in the North Yard.

A lovely bit of film and my whole family watched it. Brought a few tears to my father's eyes seeing her in the dark green, as per the first time we saw her together in 1994.

I think some footage showing her on her last run in 1963 for comparison would have been good, though I think the film makers explained away the change in number and paintwork rather well. Seeing TOPS 98872 in the cab roof brought a smile to my face. On one engine, five numbers (if you include the oiling around can that had 4472 emblazoned on it!)

What comes home in that film is that it is the people behind Flying Scotsman that are part of the magic of her legend. That for me has always been true, but it is very validating to see it in a mainstream film for television, intended for the general public.

Why this was on BBC4 and not on BBC1 or BBC2 mystifies me, given the level of coverage the BBC gave to Flying Scotsman on that day, but there we go.

 

It was a really nice show. If you could do a hagiography of a steam engine, this was pretty close to being it…

It would be great to see a longer, more forensic exploration of the overhaul at some point, but I guess I might be out of luck on that front… it's a ton of money with a ton of complexity and a ton of mis-steps taken at various points. Would be great to see that unpicked in an objective fashion, both in the interests of transparency over use of public money, and to help avoid repetition.

Simon

 

It fitted pretty well with the BBC4 brief. I expect that the Portillo show will be on BBC2, appealing to a slightly different demographic.

Simon

 

I don't disagree with you there Simon. It does fit the BBC4 brief, but it was also strange to see it on the side channel rather than one of the two main channels.

 

I'd suspect that finding a slot in the peak-time BBC 1/2 schedules for a one-off programme at short notice is not easy. Whereas BBC4 is much more fluid in its scheduling.

Tom

 

Not sure why there is such a debate over which channel the programme was aired. At least it was a national free to air channel. There was plenty of advance notice for those interested in the subject manner. In my opinion a very good show and a fitting tribute to all those who have contributed to the renovation of Flying Scotsman.

 

Disagree about the 2-pack.
Whilst it's very durable, (life expectancy 20 years+), & if applied properly will leave a mirror finish, it's vile stuff to use & has to be sprayed which sets up all sorts of H&S implications these days. Academic since, as far as I'm aware, it's use has been banned on account of it being seriously carcinogenic.

Aside from that, sprayed anything is a completely non-authentic finish. The original was brush painted & hand-lined, so should it be with the restoration. Yes, that means it will have brush marks (although can be minimised by 'adjusting' the paint & using top-drawer brushes) - but so did the original; live with it.

As to the shade of green, there was a brief shot of a can marked 'BR Green' in the programme. Looked like it came from Craftmaster Paints (rather than as I was expecting) TR Williamsons, so the exact shade will be different. Another factor is the undercoat used...

Some undercoats are downright odd. When the GWS unveiled the railmotor, there was quite a bit of criticism of the shade of Lake that had been applied; apparently it was 'wrong' (although how the critics knew that is anybody's guess). Subsequent discovery of a sample of real lake dating from c.1920 suggests otherwise & Williamson's 'Llangollen Red' is as near as makes no odds the same shade. What caused the colour to appear lighter/brighter was the tinted red undercoat. When in direct light it had odd reflective properties that the single topcoat couldn't obliterate - so on overcast days it appeared a deep plum & in sunlight it was almost full red. When 93 was subsequently repainted I used a neutral grey undercoat (& two topcoats) which cured the problem.

So, different topcoat manufacturer to what we're used to seeing + possible use of a photo-reactive undercoat = a variable colour according to the lighting conditions.

Pete S.
C&W Dept.,
GWS Didcot.

 

Thanks to everyone who mentioned the FS documentary. I don't have a TV and wasn't ware of it until reading this thread, but I have just been enjoying watching it on my computer. A very well-produced piece of work. Hopefully at some point during its 10-year ticket, I'll have a chance to renew my acquaintence with Scotsman, including hopefully another main line run.

 

I think you will find that it is all done to the need for the good old British to have a moan about everything

 

Flying Scotsman's American adventure bankrupted Alan Pegler but he rebuilt his life and I don't believe he was penniless at the end.

 

Since that's aimed at me, perhaps I should clarify: I simply thought that the widest demographic could be reached on the main channels. Nothing more, nothing less, not moaning or having a go.

Are we to completely eradicate conversational thoughts?

 

Same here.
I was tickled by how they went on about the run from Kings Cross taking FS "home" to the NRM, silently ignoring where it had been for the repainting.

 

Flying Scotsman with Robson Green.

http://silverliningtv.com/…/steam-journey-of-a-lifetime-wi…/

 

What's Robson Green? Is that yet another livery she carried, between apple green and middle chrome green?

Tom

 

Groan.