Early morning departure from Dubbo.

G'day All,

I thought I'd post these pics (scans of originals) of the Flying Scotsman when she came down under during our Bi-centenary celebrations back in 1988. These three pics are of her and 3801 as they leave Dubbo (some 465km west of Sydney), early morning, filling the crisp morning air with massive plumes of exhaust. What a great sight it was !










Cheers, Gary.

Fantastic shots Gary which I hope, for copyright reasons, are scans of your own originals ………………:roll::roll::roll: (i.e. you can't publish somebody elses photographs on here but a link to them would be fine).

Has 3801 got her brakes on ?  Good old Flying Scotsman seems to be doing all the hard work …………………:cheers

Hi Peter,

No, no, these are my own prints. In the background out of shot is where my grand parents lived. As for 3801, she hasn't her brakes on, a train like that is an easy stride for her…! Actually, it's the Aussie way of doing things, let somebody else do the hard work for you !

I think the Flying Scotsman is bit of a belcher. Check this photo out of her leaving Sydney Central… Maybe she doesn't like our coal…




Wow. 1988, when you were allowed down on the tracks !

Cheers, Gary.

Not only allowed on the tracks Gary - look at that kid standing in the open coach doorway in that latest shot  :shock::shock::shock::shock:

The gunk must be something to do with the coal - or maybe it's because she was designed in UK where the world turns the opposite direction …………..:roll::roll::roll:

Really great shots - all of them.  Thanks for posting:thumbs

p.s. Got any more ?

Hi Peter,

Here are a few more shots of the Flying Scotsman. I'm sure I have more, but just can't find them.




Flying Scotsman departing Sydney Central on a tourist special, ever the belcher…!




Two 4472s', one famous, one not so famous…




At rest at Sydney Central after returning from a Sydney surburban network tour.

Cheers, Gary.

It would appear she's as popular down under as she is here.  Once again Gary, great photos.

I do wonder if they made her smoke specially to let people know she was there.  It does look a bit excessive ………:roll:

Nice photos, Gary. They bring back a few memories for me as I rode behind Flying Scotsman and 3801 from Brisbane to Casino and back, that year. They took 3801 off the train of 14 heavy wooden carriages + water gin at The Risk (which was also a water stop, sent her on ahead and let 4472 do all the work to Kyogle, where 3801 rejoined the train.

At Casino the coaling and watering and turn around took place and we set off on the return 45 minutes late (due to the Brisbane Limited train running that much late on the way down). It was a very spirited run back to Brisbane - we arrived on time at South Brisbane then had to wait two minutes to cross a QR suburban train over the Merivale bridge, which only has standard gauge on one of its two tracks (one is 3' 6", the other is dual gauge).

I must try to find the photos I took at the time.

In the meantime, thanks for those memories.