Flying Scotsman: The Extraordinary Story of the World's Most Famous Train

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Morpurgo was awarded an OBE in 2007 and a knighthood in 2018 for services to literature and charity.

I shall never forget the Scottish fireman’s gratitude when he asked me where I was based and what I did for a living. Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman chart a twentieth- century history of Flying Scotsman through Iris’s story, which travels through her work in the second world war, to the train’s international journeys too.Was it her styling, her name, her performance or simply the work of very talented purveyors of slick PR? But sometimes it was touch and go for coal and it was very hard for the fireman to fetch and carry and throw fast enough to meet the desire of that raging fire. In my day on the A1s during the war, the scoop was lowered into the trough by turning a handle, a relatively easy task, but I see that on the 1922 drawing the chute is lowered by a lever, a very different proposition — as I found out to my cost on a G. Taking its name from the London to Edinburgh non-stop service on which it was employed, 'Flying Scotsman' worked many long-distance express trains in a career in which it covered more than 2,000,000 miles (3,200,000 km). The only time I went on the non-stop was in 1958, when I volunteered to go forward to help the Haymarket fireman.

That, of course was 1470, later to be named ‘Great Northern’ and was a London and North Eastern Railway (L. This book tells the inspiring tale of a young woman following her dreams in the golden age of steam travel – with beautiful illustrations throughout.However, we are now able to offer limited "DDP" (Delivered Duty Paid) services to certain EU destinations. Arriving in the cab of the A4 and without more ado, I opened the gate, took the spare blade, walked into the tender and then shovelled and shovelled until all the coal was within easy reach. Published in association with the National Railway Museum, York, Flying Scotsman and the Best Birthday Ever takes readers on a journey through the golden age of steam travel, paying tribute to the women who kept the railways running during the Second World War.