The National Railway Museum has opened up a tender to find the next custodian of world famous locomotive, 60103 Flying Scotsman.
The previous agreement with Riley & Son (E) Ltd ended on the 31st December 2023 and now a new arrangement is being looked into which will be valid until the 31st January 2032.
It is expected that the contract will start on the 3rd June 2024 and does include the provision for the locomotive to be converted to a single chimney locomotive and a livery change if requested.
However, the NRM says that the locomotive will remain the same livery and configuration for the time being.
The NRM has also included a limit on the annual mileage the locomotive can do in order to balance operational requirements and conservation.
Tenders will be evaluated on price, previous experience, technical ability, staffing and sustainability.
Flying Scotsman is due an overhaul in 2029 and the successful applicant will be responsible for overhauling the locomotive.
Judith McNicol, Director of the National Railway Museum, said: “We are seeking a single supplier to act as custodian for Flying Scotsman and to work closely with us to ensure that the 100-year-old locomotive receives the best care possible to preserve it for future generations. We also want to give people across the UK the chance to see the locomotive in person and we will create a public engagement calendar that includes main line excursions, heritage railway visits and display at the National Railway Museum and Locomotion.”
For further information, visit the Science Museum Group’s procurement website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sciencemuseumgroup
Responses
Surely they could not go back to a single chimney without changing the boiler or compromising the efficiency of the locomotive? As for the colour, apple green was the only one I liked.
I believe that the gent who said she was originally red was wrong as when first built she ran in Great Northern green livery which was a mender to lnwr green as she was first built for the great Northern railway and was not named until 1923 when the GNR Atlantic of the same name was scrapped to release the name for Scott having worked for a long while with her in sir Williams days you get to k ow her well u don’t think the NRM are planning any stuffing and mounting of her after spending such huge amounts of money getting her into such fine fettle which I am sure they want to keep her like that
I remembered seeing the majestic FLYING SCOTSMAN at a railway 🚂 open day in the 1980s we left Mantle lane rail yard and travelled to Leicester via Loughborough it was fantastic, let’s hope 1, they leave her in her LNER livery and 2, keep that gorgeous and magical grand steam train 🚂🚂 running and not end up in a museum unlike the other beautiful & majestic engine’s or worse thanks to that man who killed the steam engines and closed the station’s and ripped up miles and miles of track
I hope I’m wrong but I suspect a secret agenda here for Flying Scotsman never to steam again on the main line but become a museum piece. Why wasn’t this tender put out last autumn so a new contract could have been in place when Riley’s ran out. It can’t be incompetence surely. Flying Scotsman is due to reside at the NRM and Locomotion for some months and autumn before she could head a railtour. That’s months off her boiler certificate not running.
Why have they opened her tender? Or have I read that wrongly?😁😁
Sadly don’t think my Garden shed is big enough or I would tender! Hope Rilies are in the running again as they had her performing like a dream last July on Kings X to Aberdeen weekend.
She’ll outlive me, that’s for sure. I like her in her LNER Apple Green livery though I understand initially she was red. British Railways livery annoys me due to Beeching and Marples.
I hope Flying scotsman keeps going for a long time to come I have been on her 3 times and I wood not like something to hap to her.