Flying Scotsman glides through Kent as centenary fast approaches

  • Video report by Andy Dickenson


When it comes to trains there are few as famous - or as well loved by rail enthusiasts - as the Flying Scotsman.

The steam locomotive is fast approaching its centenary year but, just before it retires for a facelift to celebrate, it took a trip through Kent today.

Before making its way to Canterbury it pulled into tiny Edenbridge station this morning - where our cameras were waiting.

The heroic engine pulled into the station to take on water - where previously it would have travelled from London to Edinburgh non-stop in about six hours, picking up water through water troughs on the tracks.

Among the trainspotters and well wishers ready to greet it was the founder of Steam Dreams, Marcus Robertson.

"It's had several owners who've had problems with it, it got stuck in America," he said. "It's been all over the world and most locos haven't. It just has something way beyond other locomotives in total. It has a resonance that goes way beyond these shores. It's a genuine celebrity loco."

A legend of the tracks, the Flying Scotsman broke two world records some 55 years apart - the first to reach 100mph in 1934, and a non-stop steam run of 422 miles in Australia in 1989.

This was its penultimate trip before an overhaul in time for next year's centenary celebrations.

It's still set to delight many more passengers and spectators further down the line.