MONDAY, July 18, 1932, was a record-breaking day for the Flying Scotsman.
The train had arrived at Waverley station at 5.26am, four minutes ahead of time, having covered the 390 miles from King’s Cross in seven hours, 26 minutes; a new world record non-stop for a journey of that distance, said the Glasgow Herald. Sir Malcolm Campbell, holder of the world land speed record, had waved it off in London.
Officials from LNER - the London and North-Eastern Railway - greeted the crew in Edinburgh, and a congratulatory telegram was read out.
At 10am the train left on the return journey, LNER chairman William Whitelaw having shaken hands with the driver, Alexander Davidson, the fireman, James Collins, and the guard, David Bell. On board was an innovation, a cocktail bar. The Flying Scotsman reached King’s Cross at 5.28pm, two minutes ahead of schedule, delighting the LNER company, which had built it at a cost of £75,000 for the summer service linking the two capitals. (On the right of the photograph, incidentally, can be seen the remaining turrets of the old Calton jail).
Someone on the day produced the 1863 timetable for the then Flying Scotsman train: the London journey at that time took 11 hours.
July 18, as it turns out, also saw the Royal Scot set a new record for the London-Glasgow run, completing it in seven hours and 37 minutes.
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