Flying Scotsman: Daughter visits train saved by father

The daughter of the man who saved Flying Scotsman from being scrapped is travelling to England to ride behind the famous steam locomotive.

Alan Pegler bought the redundant locomotive from British Railways in 1963 for £3,000.

Penny Pegler said it had been "a lovely and special part of my family life".

She will travel from her home in Portugal to see the locomotive when it visits Swanage Railway in Dorset later this month.

Mr Pegler, who is also credited with saving the Ffestiniog railway in Gwynedd, died in 2012, aged 91.

Ms Pegler said: "I was nine years old when my father came up to my room on a snowy night in January 1963 to say goodnight, and told me, with a twinkle in his eye, that he had just bought a beautiful steam locomotive to save her from being cut up in a scrapyard.

"Over the next few years, my father and I went on many wonderful trips all over the UK with Scotty, as we called Flying Scotsman.

"He wanted to keep her alive for future generations to enjoy and today she is everybody's locomotive with everyone having their own special memory of Flying Scotsman."

The 97-tonne locomotive, owned by National Railway Museum in York, will haul trains on Swanage Railway for five days from 22 October.

It was the first British steam locomotive to break the 100mph barrier and run non-stop from London to Edinburgh.

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