Rivals to reunite at Didcot, but still no main line for ‘A3’

News

NATIONAL COLLECTION ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman and ‘Castle’ No. 4079 Pendennis Castle will be reunited for the first time in 36 years at Didcot Railway Centre in May – but enthusiasts may have to wait a while to see the Gresley ‘Pacific’ back on the main line.

It comes as the National Railway Museum announced more details about Flying Scotsman’s programme for 2025. Its spell at Didcot from May 12 until June 2 will be its second visit to a heritage line following its already-announced period on loan to the Nene Valley Railway on February 22-March 9 (SR567). The Gresley 4 6 2 will be operational on DRC’s demonstration line on May 24-26, 28, and 31, and displayed outside the 1932-built shed alongside Pendennis Castle on May 14, 17/18, 21-23 and 29/30, and June 1. It is also hoped that Hudswell, Clarke 0 6 0ST Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons No. 31 (Works No. 1026 of 1913) – formerly owned by the late Sir William McAlpine, who also previously owned both Nos. 4079 and 4472 during his lifetime – will also participate, pending the completion of its overhaul. It is currently at Didcot on loan from the Fawley Hill Railway.

In addition to its visits to Didcot and the NVR, the ex-LNER ‘Pacific’ will also be displayed at the National Railway Museum itself on April 5-20 and return to Locomotion at Shildon – where the 4 6 2 has spent much of the last year hauling brake van rides – from July 26 until August 25.

The NRM also confirmed that DB Cargo would be the locomotive’s Train Operating Company under Northern Steam Operations Ltd’s (NSOL) custodianship but, at the time of writing, there were still no scheduled main line railtours for the ‘A3’. Although the NRM said: “More trips are now in the planning stage, with details set to be released later in the year,” it added that: “Flying Scotsman’s engagements in 2025 will be targeted at heritage railway lines to allow access to a broad range of family audiences throughout the railway’s bicentenary year,” suggesting No. 60103 may not haul a public railtour on the national network at all during 2025.

NSOL chairman Stuart Whitter said: “We have been working hard with Science Museum Group and the National Railway Museum to prepare this historic engine for operation, and to create an exciting programme of heritage railway destinations for 2025. We are very much looking forward to delivering the maximum public exposure to this iconic locomotive across a historic year for the railways.”

Flying Scotsman’s visit to Didcot will be the first time it has been reunited with Pendennis Castle since October 1989, during the final leg of the ‘A3’s’ tour of Australia. Although No. 4079 was repatriated from Australia in 2000, this will be the first opportunity the two locomotives – which have a long, shared history spanning a century (see panel) – have had to reunite since Pendennis Castle returned to steam following overhaul at Didcot in February 2022.

● For more, see Down Main.