Flying Scotsman and Union of South Africa

Flying Scotsman and Union of South Africa are iconic locomotives. My railway enthusiast friends tell me that when these two engines visited Didcot together in August 2017 it was a big deal. A very big deal. Apparently it is the first time these fine engines have been seen together since the 1960s.

Flying Scotsman is known the world over. It is the nations favourite locomotive. The loco – part of the A-3 class – was built in 1923 and was retired in 1963. Since then it has had various private owners and is now owned by the National Railway Museum.

The Union of South Africa is part of the A-4 class and was in service between 1937 and 1966. It is in private ownership.

I took the opportunity to visit Didcot this week. Here are a few images created which evoke the golden age of steam of more than half a century ago. They feature Flying Scotsman, Union of South Africa as well as a handful of other locos.

Please get in touch if you would like more information on any of these images.

Thanks to Timeline Events and the efforts of Neil Cave, Peter Zabek and the team of people who made these photo shoots possible.