Heading To England? Here's All You Need To Know About The Flying Scotsman

A stunning image of the The Flying Scotsman, roaming over England

A former British Airways Concorde which has since moved to the centrepiece of the

Bristol Aviation Centre in the UK

The Space Shuttle was once NASA’s space transportation system. The iconic spaceship carried astronauts and cargo to and from Earth orbit, and took its first space shuttle flight on April 12, 1981.

Some of my friends were quite amused by my blog post entitled 'Fun Facts About San Jose, California.' They picked up the gauntlet that I threw down. You too might remember when I stated that it was my belief that the Concorde and the Space Shuttle were the number one engineering feats of the 20th century. My engineering friends weigh in with the following statements: What about the television? The telephone (give me a break!), and the Hoover Dam in 1935? One of them went as far as to mention the venerable steam train. Yes, I agree, but that remarkable discovery was from the 19th century.

As a wee boy, my love for traveling came in the form of the Flying Scotsman, pictured below. To me, the this now iconic steam train held a mystique that was quite simple incredibly striking.

Once known as the fastest train in the world, the Flying Scotsman captivated my imagination as a young boy. To this day, I still love the chuff-chuff puffing sounds made by the steam engine.

In the 1960s I used to travel on the Flying Scotsman from London to Newcastle to visit family members. Flying by train is an act I still like to indulge in. In fact, not too long ago I made a 16-hour travel trip via Amtrak from New York to North Carolina.

One Christmas my mother gave me a train set similar to this Hornby DUBLO Flying Scotsman. I can still remember the moment, and the effect that particular gift had on me 

Growing up, we lived in Salvin Road, Putney, and a group of kids around the same age as me had a hobby called 'train spotting.' This activity involved waiting for trains in the tracks, and writing down the names and numbers of passing engines. Looking back, I break out into a cold sweat realizing how dangerous it was, we could have been easily killed.

Young Train Spotters, circa 1950s

 Beware: A warning sign similar to the image listed above

Amtrak: All Aboard For The Trip of Your Life

BREAKING NEWS: In my next post I will write about The California Zephyr train which runs daily from San Francisco to Chicago. The post will include some stunning photographs which will show what the passengers see on their 2,438-mile trip. This particular service will soon be phased out. SO DON'T MISS IT.