National Railway Museum confirms Flying Scotsman will stay in mainline service with new maintenance contract awarded

There were fears that the Doncaster-built locomotive would be retired and become a static display engine after a contract to maintain it for rail tours expired at the end of 2023 without being re-tendered.

Yet its owners the National Railway Museum announced on Thursday that the 100-year-old engine will return to the rails later this year and haul charter excursions once again.

It will also spend the first part of this year on display in York, having ended 2023 at the museum’s sister site, Locomotion in County Durham.

The Scotsman covered over 10,000 miles of the network during its centenary year in 2023, visiting heritage railways and working tours on the mainline.

A statement from the NRM read: “From Friday 26 January until the summer, the locomotive will be displayed in the Flying Scotsman Story exhibition at the National Railway Museum. Visitors will be able to see the locomotive for free and access the footplate via an accessible ramp.

"Flying Scotsman will then travel to Locomotion in Shildon where it will go on public display.

"A competitive tender to appoint the next custodian for Flying Scotsman to operate and maintain the locomotive will launch with an Invitation to Tender (ITT) published online in the coming weeks. The tender is expected to be awarded in late spring 2024.

"Once the custodian is appointed, Flying Scotsman will resume a programme of rail tours in the autumn. It is expected that the locomotive will visit heritage railways and will remain main line operational."

Museum director Judith McNicol added: “After an amazing centenary year which has seen Flying Scotsman delight and inspire thousands of people, I can announce our plans to bring the world-famous locomotive to the National Railway Museum in York while we begin the search for its next custodian.

“Our intention is to keep Flying Scotsman main line operational and once the new custodian is appointed, we will create a calendar of activity that includes main line tours, visits to heritage railways and our museums.”

In October half-term, the museum in York had more than 51,000 visitors to see the locomotive.