The Flying Scotsman: Films and TV shows the famous 20th century steam locomotive has appeared in since it was built in Doncaster including Agatha and 102 Dalmatians

The Flying Scotsman will turn 100 years old on February 24, 2023 and to celebrate its anniversary there will be a host of events taking place as it travels across the country. Its centenary programme will include a visit to Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

The Flying Scotsman was built at Doncaster Works in February 1923 to a design by Nigel Gresley and cost £7,944. It was used for long-distance express East Coast Main Line trains and was named after the London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman train service.

Over its 100-year service, it has made pop culture appearances in films, TV and even video games. The locomotive has attracted thousands of visitors from far and wide for every tour it has made over the years.

Films and TV shows Yorkshire’s Flying Scotsman has appeared in

The Flying Scotsman has appeared in four films:

The Flying Scotsman

This was one of its first film appearances. It is a 1929 black and white part-silent film set on the Flying Scotsman train from London to Edinburgh, also featuring the famous locomotive LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman.

Agatha

This film is a 1979 drama thriller starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Timothy Dalton. It focuses on the renowned crime writer Agatha Christie and her famous 11-day disappearance in 1926.

102 Dalmatians

The locomotive also makes a short appearance in the 2000 live action comedy film 102 Dalmatians which is a sequel to the 1996 film 101 Dalmatians starring Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil.

Thomas and Friends: The Great Race

This 2016 computer animated comedy adventure film based on the TV series Thomas and Friends and stars the voices of Joseph May and John Hasier as the voice of Thomas in the US and the UK respectively. The locomotive makes a full appearance in the animated film, where he is voiced by Rufus Jones in both the UK and US dubs.

The Flying Scotsman has also appeared in many TV shows:

James May’s Toy Stories

This is a UK documentary TV show created and presented by James May and focussed on bringing some of the most notable toys conceived in the past into the modern age to a ‘new generation of children’, by putting each toy into a complex, large-scale project involving the nature of the toy.

James May: The Reassembler

This BBC Four documentary programme focuses on the reassembly of various pieces of technology from the past. James May discusses the item, its place in society and the engineering principles of the part while he puts it back together.

Flying Scotsman from the Footplate

The Flying Scotsman was the subject of a TV documentary in 2016 aired on BBC Four.

Flying Scotsman with Robson Green

This was the second documentary in 2016 that focussed on the famous steam locomotive. It features Robson who spent a year with a team of engineers commissioned to restore the locomotive.

The Flying Scotsman has also appeared in other pop culture including a race hosted by Top Gear, a video game, the Olympics in 2012 and more.

Top Gear Race to the North

The Top Gear Race to the North was a three-way race held in 2009 between a Jaguar XK120 car, a Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle, and railway locomotive 60163 Tornado, a brand new mainline steam engine completed in Britain in 2008.

Microsoft Train Simulator

Flying Scotsman is a playable locomotive in the 2001 PC simulation game.

2012 Summer Olympics

One of the specially produced £5 coins featured an engraving of Flying Scotsman on the back.

Forza Horizon 4

It is featured in the 2018 racing game in a showcase event in which the player must race against the engine.

Hornby Railways

The British railways manufacturing company used Flying Scotsman as its Centenary Year edition logo.