The Bluebell Railway has released a limited number of tickets for its Golden Arrow Flying Scotsman Gala trains on the August bank holiday weekend.
It is offering seats on the Gala Dinner on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 August and the Gala Breakfast on Monday 28 August. The events are being held to celebrate the Flying Scotsman's centenary visit to the Bluebell Railway.
At both events, passengers will be served by professional waiting staff whilst being pulled by the Flying Scotsman and enjoying the beautiful Sussex countryside.
- The Gala Dinner is a black-tie event which will begin at Sheffield Park Station with a Gala Champagne reception at 5:30pm. The train will then depart at 6.30pm, and the journey will terminate at Sheffield Park station at approximately 10:30pm, with refreshments available to buy from the Bessemer Arms until 11pm. The ticket price is £195 per person.
- The Gala Breakfast begins with a Gala Champagne reception at 6:30am, after which the train will depart at 7:30am. For this event, the Railway respectfully asks passengers to observe a smart dress code, with no jeans or trainers. Your journey will terminate at Sheffield Park station at approximately 9:30am, and passengers are free to spend the rest of their day enjoying the rest of the facilities at the Bluebell Railway. The ticket prices is £125 per person.
Application for the tickets must be made by email only, to bookings@bluebell-railway.com. These tickets are very limited and will sell out fast, so the Railway is urging enthusiasts to not miss their chance to travel in style behind the world's most famous steam locomotive!
Please visit https://www.bluebell-railway.com/the_flying_scotsman_in_steam_xx/ for full details.
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman is a 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design by Nigel Gresley. It was employed on long-distance express East Coast Main Line trains by the LNER and its successors, British Railways Eastern and North-Eastern Regions, notably on the London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman train service after which it was named.
The Flying Scotsman was the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) on 30 November 1934, and then set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 422 miles (679 km) on 8 August 1989 while in Australia.
Retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 2.08 million miles, Flying Scotsman enjoyed considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of, successively, Alan Pegler, William McAlpine, Tony Marchington, and finally the National Railway Museum.
As well as hauling enthusiast specials in the United Kingdom, the locomotive toured extensively in the United States and Canada from 1969 until 1973 and Australia in 1988 and 1989. Flying Scotsman has been described as the world's most famous steam locomotive.
