COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The flying Scotsman non-stop journey of 392 miles in London to Edinburgh in 7 hours 37 minutes while the Cheltenham Flyer world record holder reached the speed of 79 mph to be the fastest train of all in 1931.

Cheltenham Flyer should read 79 mph.

[Now corrected: DM]

Trainspotting was particularly dull activity around Coventry: Black Five, Standard Five, Black Five, Standard Five. "Ooh look: an Ivatt!"

I don't think I ever saw a green locomotive at Coventry or anywhere between Coventry and Manchester although some were covered in so much soot they may have been indistinguishable from black?

You had to travel to Rugby or Nuneaton to see the interesting stuff like this unique BR three-cylinder Pacific which was actually green when it left the workshop:

Just outside SHILTON STATION a bomb hit the safety fence of the railway a number of bombs dropped among a herd of cows many cattle blew them into bits I and my brother crossed that field next morning to reach SHILTON SCHOOL (evacuated ) all these bits of animals hanging on barbed wire etc WAS A TERRIBLE FRIGHT FOR US I WAS 12, MY BROTHER 8. It was a near thing for the northern line I think they hit PAILTON AS WELL. These were the first bombs near Coventry. My father brought us home next day, the school phoned him.

1931 THE FLYING SCOTSMAN HAD A SISTER TRAIN - THE NIGHT SCOTSMAN



Henry Seagrave broke the boat record but he was fatily injured and the boat was wrecked, Don Bradman made records at Cricket, and we had the first air-mail box 1931.

In 1945 I had my most exiting train ride through France, all the bridges were still bombed, but we spent two hours in a siding while two hospital trains passed over the only frail line that ran across the Seine, we could see the river below us, through twisted girders, all the time we expected to plunge into the river, we crossed at a snails pace, but the rest of the journey was magnificent.

In 1947 I was derailed from a train that was blown up by explosive mine.

You have certainly lived, Blitzkid.

I was never 'into' trains but didn't know about the Night Scotsman.