Flying Scotsman stops at Newbury Racecourse as part of centenary celebration journey from London Paddington to Salisbury

Hundreds of people flocked to Newbury Racecourse train station last week to get a peek of one of the nation’s most famous locomotives.

Flying Scotsman stopped briefly to take on water on its way from London Paddington to Salisbury on Wednesday, June 21, a journey that was part of its centenary celebrations.

Arriving at around 11.24am, the Scotsman remained at the racecourse station until 11.47am while curious onlookers got a closer look at the famous steam train.

Thatcham train spotter Steve Davies was very excited to see it. He said: “I’ve been looking forward to it for about two weeks.”

Mr Davies said he was at the station on behalf of his wife Trisha who is an even bigger fan of trains, but she was wasn’t at Newbury Racecourse on Wednesday because she was away at a school sports day.

“I’m really her representative,” he said. “But I love them too. We love trains full stop.

“We’ve seen the Flying Scotsman before here but you never quite know when they run the service if they will have diesel engines on both ends instead of the train.

“It’s always pleasing to see the steam train.”

The married couple are members of the Didcot Railway Preservation Society and they often take their grandchildren to the Didcot Railway Centre.

Katie Murray brought her three-year-old daughter Edith to see the Scotsman who was disappointed that the colour of the train didn’t match her favourite talking locomotive, Thomas the Tank Engine.

She said: “Edith just loves trains. She wanted it to be blue, but it’s green. That’s the only disappointing thing.”

Roger and Karen Mead were passengers on the train. They got off at the Racecourse station to stretch their legs before their journey continued.

Mr Mead said: “It’s centenary year this year as it was built in 1923. It’s got the white cab roof because it’s recently been to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway where King Charles was carried on it.

“It was tradition in the steam days to paint the cabin of steam engines white when they were pulling royalty.”

This is the second time the couple have been aboard a Scotsman service, having travelled on it to Canterbury last year.

Mr Mead added: “On the way here, on every vantage point, every field and every bridge there were people taking photographs and waving. It’s a real celebrity.”