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 of 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 locomotive set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated as reaching on 30 November 1934, and then setting a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran on 8 August 1989 while in Australia. Retired from revenue service in early 1963 after covering 2.08 million miles, The Flying Scotsman went under considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of, successively, Alan Pegler, William McAlpine, Tony Marchington, and finally the National Railway Museum (NRM). 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. History Flying Scotsman is a 4-6-2 "Pacific" locomotive completed in February 1923 at Doncaster Works as the third of 51 Class A1 locomotives built to a design by Nigel Gresley. The A1s were designed for main line and later express passenger services, initially on the Great Northern Railway (GNR), a constituent company of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) after the amalgamation of 1923, for which they became a standard design. Flying Scotsman cost £7,944 to build, and initially carried the number 1472 as the GNR had not yet decided on a system-wide numbering scheme. Following amalgamation, in February 1924 the locomotive acquired its name after The Flying Scotsman express service between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, and assigned a new number, 4472. Flying Scotsman became a flagship locomotive for the LNER, representing the company at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park in 1924 and 1925. In 1928, the LNER decided to make The Flying Scotsman a non-stop service for the first time. 4472 became one of five A1s selected for the service, and hauled the inaugural service on 1 May where it completed the journey in 8 hours and 3 minutes. For this, the locomotives ran with