100mph, 422 miles and round the world
Flying Scotsman’s firsts, and the record it never held.
How this site works. Every fact is in our own words and linked to its source, beside it. Where good sources disagree, we show each version in a “Sources differ” box.
100mph, 1934
In 1934 it was clocked at 100mph on a special test run, officially the first locomotive in the UK to reach that speed. NRM
Nigel Gresley, driver Bill Sparshatt and fireman R Webster were photographed at King’s Cross after the 100mph run. NRM
Its engine record card includes a note of the 100mph it reached. NRM
The LNER made sure the authenticated 100mph was covered in the national press. NRM blog, 2023
The run showed the LNER’s directors that steam could give high speeds, which ended a plan to use diesel power on its fast services. NRM
Was it really the first to 100mph? Sources differ
- The National Railway Museum describes it as officially the first steam locomotive to reach 100mph. NRM, 2023
- Some claim the locomotive City of Truro was first past 100mph, in 1904, when it apparently reached 102mph running down a slope. BBC, 2016
The museum says “officially”: Flying Scotsman’s speed was recorded and authenticated. The City of Truro claim, from 1904, is mentioned by the BBC as a claim. We give both.
Non-stop
On 1 May 1928 it hauled the first ever non-stop London to Edinburgh service, cutting the journey to eight hours. NRM
In May 1968, 40 years after the first non-stop run, it ran non-stop from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh again. NRM
In 1989, in Australia, it set the world record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive: 422 miles. NRM
Round the world
It was the first steam locomotive to go right round the world, on its voyage to Australia and back. NRM
It toured Australia in 1988 and 1989. BBC, 2023
Mallard, the record it never held
The A4 locomotive Mallard set the world speed record for steam, 126mph, on 3 July 1938, and that record still stands. NRM, Mallard
Mallard’s crew claimed 125mph; the speed record later suggested 126mph, and Gresley chose not to mention it because that speed lasted less than a mile. NRM, Mallard
Mallard’s streamlined, wedge-shaped A4 design looked nothing like the A3 class that Flying Scotsman belongs to. NRM, Mallard
Before Mallard, the British steam record was 114mph, held by the LMS. NRM, Mallard The steam world record before Mallard had been set in Germany in May 1935, at 124.5mph. NRM, Mallard
Still setting records
Back in action in 2016, it took another record: the oldest mainline working locomotive on Britain’s tracks. NRM
In 2023 the museum’s director called it the oldest steam locomotive on the main line. NRM, 2023
Our view: Flying Scotsman’s real record is not speed but survival. Mallard is faster, but it is Scotsman that is still out on the main line a century on.
Next: owners and rescues →