23rd October, 2026
Hauled by two iconic British Rail Inter-City 125 High Speed Train diesel locomotives from the 1970s, the world’s most famous steam locomotive – ‘Flying Scotsman’ – has arrived on the Swanage Railway to celebrate the Isle of Purbeck heritage’s line 50th anniversary.
In light steam, and with its support carriage in tow, the record-breaking steam locomotive was hauled to Swanage by the two former British Rail Class 43 main line diesel locomotives – the first examples of which are celebrating the 50th anniversary of coming into service in 1976 – from the Didcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire on Wednesday, 21 October, 2026.
Owned by the National Railway Museum in York, the iconic 97-tonne A3 class locomotive ‘Flying Scotsman’ – completed in 1923 by the London and North Eastern Railway (L.N.E.R.) – will be admired and enjoyed by the public on the Swanage Railway for ten days; from Friday, 23 October, 2026, to Sunday, 1 November, 2026, inclusive.
‘Flying Scotsman’ will be on static display at Swanage station on 23, 26, 27, 30 and 31 October, 2026, and hauling trains between Swanage, Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden on 24, 25, 28 and 29 October, 2026, as well as on 1 November, 2026.
Costing £7,944 to build in 1923, ‘Flying Scotsman’ was named after the prestigious London to Edinburgh express train service it helped to operate – the journey time being eight hours.
During a test run in 1934, the Nigel Gresley-designed No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ was the first steam locomotive in the United Kingdom to haul a train at 100 miles an hour.
Swanage Railway Chief Executive Officer Abbie King said: “In light steam, the iconic ‘Flying Scotsman’ arriving on the Swanage Railway was an impressive and inspiring sight. It was appropriate the world famous steam locomotive was hauled by two iconic Inter-City 125 High Speed Train diesel locomotives from the 1970s that are celebrating their own 50th anniversary.
“’Flying Scotsman’ continues to be world famous with the wonderful and fascinating steam locomotive continuing to take the public’s breath away – more than a century after it was built. It is such a privilege to host ‘Flying Scotsman’ and we are very grateful to the National Railway Museum for allowing it to visit the Swanage Railway.
“It will be wonderful to share the joy and fascination of ‘Flying Scotsman’ with the public both young and old. The Swanage Railway is about giving our valued visitors great experiences and wonderful memories with ‘Flying Scotsman’ set to do that and more.
“We are very grateful to the National Railway Museum for its continued support of the Swanage Railway and for helping us to bring this very special 50th anniversary to life with the visit of ‘Flying Scotsman’,” added Abbie.
In 1924, ‘Flying Scotsman’ appeared at the British Empire Exhibition in London and in 1963 British Railways withdrew the locomotive from service, after which it was saved by Alan Pegler.
Running with ‘Flying Scotsman’ on the Swanage Railway will be the newly overhauled and upgraded late 1940s ‘Devon Belle’ Pullman observation carriage that dedicated Swanage Railway volunteers rescued from San Francisco in 2007.
Between 1969 and 1972, ‘Flying Scotsman’ ran with the ‘Devon Belle’ carriage in the United States of America during a tour of the country to promote British exports.
When ‘Flying Scotsman’ is hauling trains – with each carriage named after a Scottish loch – between Swanage, Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden, the following round trip tickets are available for travel behind the world’s most famous locomotive.
When ‘Flying Scotsman’ is on static display at Swanage station, visitors will enter via the ‘Devon Belle’ Pullman observation carriage – where they can purchase drinks at the bar – before walking through the historic locomotive’s corridor tender and on to the fascinating footplate.
‘Flying Scotsman’ static display viewing tickets include unlimited travel for the day behind a Swanage Railway steam locomotive between Norden, Corfe Castle, Harman’s Cross and Swanage. Standard travel tickets will not be available on ‘Flying Scotsman’ static display days.
Tickets for ‘Flying Scotsman’ running and static display days can be purchased from the Swanage Railway website at www.swanagerailway.co.uk under Events and Experiences.
Article & Photography by Andrew PM Wright