The incredible biography of the most famous steam locomotive in the world. Think of the Golden Age of Steam & one train leaps to mind above all others: the Flying Scotsman Nigel Gresleys elegant masterpiece of a locomotive. She broke the world speed record in 1934 & has enthralled millions with her beauty & power. Uniquely her post-war career has been even more varied & exciting than her early triumphs. Now Andrew Roden tells the Scotsmans remarkable story from her construction & the glory days between the wars through the decline of steam & her rollercoaster fortunes in the subsequent years: nearly abandoned on a tour of the United States after the money ran out crossing the Australian interior then put up for sale yet again when the company that owned her went bankrupt in 2003. A massive public campaign saved her for the nation & the Flying Scotsmans restoration began in 2005 at the National Railway Museum. With the aid of numerous interviews with those involved with the Scotsman over the years Roden brings her story memorably to life. Above all he asks: why do grown men risk their life savings to own her? Why do thousands of people still line the trackside when shes due to race past? & just what is the eternal appeal of the Flying Scotsman?