Several people were injured after the Flying Scotsman, the historic steam locomotive celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, was involved in a low-speed crash with another heritage train in the Scottish Highlands. The incident occurred at Aviemore Station in the Cairngorms National Park on Friday, where a heritage train line operates steam train trips in northern Scotland. The Flying Scotsman, often hailed as the world’s most famous steam engine, was scheduled to run short trips from the station as part of its centenary celebrations.
Emergency workers were alerted to the collision on Friday night, which took place at low speed. Two individuals were hospitalized as a precaution, while three others were treated at the scene and did not require hospital treatment. The Belmond and Strathspey Railway, the operator of the heritage train line, stated that the Flying Scotsman locomotive was being coupled with stationary Royal Scotsman train carriages when the collision occurred. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.
As a result of the crash, the locomotive will not be hauling any trains this weekend and will undergo inspection on Monday. The carriages from the Royal Scotsman are also being assessed. This news has disappointed many train enthusiasts who had traveled from far and wide for the special journey, according to local media reports.
The Flying Scotsman, which entered service in 1923, gained its renowned name a year later when it began connecting passengers from London to Edinburgh. In 1934, it achieved global fame by reaching a speed of 100 mph (160 kph) on a special test run, becoming the first locomotive in the UK to achieve such a feat. The train was retired from regular service in 1963 but has since toured the US and Australia and continued to run special train trips in the UK. It was acquired by the National Railway Museum in York, which embarked on a multimillion-pound restoration project in recent years.
By Sylvia Hui