LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman

LNER Class A3 No. 60103 Flying Scotsman
Flying Scotsman in 2017 in its British Railways guise, numbered 60103 in BR Brunswick Green livery with German-style smoke deflectors and double chimney.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Sir Nigel Gresley Builder Doncaster Works Order number 297 Serial number 1564 Build date 24 February 1923
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 80 in (2,032 mm) diameter Length 70 ft (21.34 m) Height 13 ft (3.96 m) Loco weight 96.25 long tons (97.79 t; 107.80 short tons) Cylinders 3
Performance figures Tractive effort as built: 29,835 lbf (132.71 kN) as A3: 32,910 lbf (146.39 kN)
Career Operators London and North Eastern Railway British Railways Class A3 Numbers LNER 1472 (to February 1924) LNER 4472 (February 1924–January 1946) LNER 103 (May 1946–December 1948) BR 60103 (December 1948 on) Official name Flying Scotsman Withdrawn 15 January 1963 Restored 1963, 2016 Current owner National Railway Museum Disposition Operational, mainline certified

No. 4472 Flying Scotsman is a LNER Class A3 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotive built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of Nigel Gresley. It was employed on long-distance express passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line by LNER and its successors, British Railways' Eastern and North Eastern Regions, notably on The Flying Scotsman service between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley after which it was named.

Retired from British Railways in 1963 after covering 2.08 million miles, Flying Scotsman has been described as the world's most famous steam locomotive. It had earned considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of, successively, Alan Pegler, William McAlpine, Tony Marchington, and, since 2004, the National Railway Museum. 4472 became a flagship locomotive for the LNER, representing the company twice at the British Empire Exhibition and in 1928, hauled the inaugural non-stop Flying Scotsman service. It set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first locomotive to reach the officially authenticated speed of 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) on 30 November 1934,^[1] and setting the longest non-stop run of a steam locomotive of 422 miles (679 km) on 8 August 1989 while on tour in Australia.