4472 FROM 4472 EDITION

4472 Flying Scotsman

The name Flying Scotsman is synonymous with the golden age of steam and has been close to the public’s heart since 1924. The legendary steam locomotive was the first train to go non-stop from London to Edinburgh, the longest continuous train journey ever to have been achieved, and it went on to be the first steam engine to reach a speed of 100mph.

The metal from which our cufflinks are made originates from one of 4472’s old axle boxes. The specific axle box is the left trailing bogie example, which is stamped with the number ‘103’, suggesting it was fitted to the Flying Scotsman between 1945 and 1948. The box was removed from 4472 during her restoration by the National Railway Museum at York in 2006. With circa 60 years service it is reasonable to speculate that 4472 will have travelled for hundreds of thousands of miles with this axle box fitted.