Famous British locomotives and where to see them

Britain's most famous locomotives include Stephenson's Rocket, which won the Rainhill Trials in 1829; Flying Scotsman, the first steam engine officially recorded at 100 mph; Mallard, which set the world speed record for steam at 126 mph in 1938; the Deltic diesels of the East Coast Main Line; and the InterCity 125, still the fastest diesel train in the world. Many of them survive, and you can see them at the National Railway Museum in York, at Locomotion in Shildon, at the Science Museum in London and on Britain's heritage railways.

Here they are in rough order, with what made each one matter and where to look.

Famous British locomotives at a glance

Which locomotives started it all?

Puffing Billy is the oldest steam locomotive still in existence, built around 1813 to 1814 to pull coal wagons at Wylam Colliery in Northumberland. It lives at the Science Museum in London.

Then came the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which opened on 27 September 1825 as the first public railway to use steam locomotives. Its first train was hauled by Locomotion No. 1, built by George and Robert Stephenson's company. The line's 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2025.

Four years later, in 1829, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway held the Rainhill Trials to choose the locomotives for its new line. Rocket, built by Robert Stephenson with his father George, won. Several of its features, like the multi-tube boiler, became standard on the steam engines that followed.

Why is Flying Scotsman so famous?

Partly because it's been doing remarkable things for over a century. Built at Doncaster in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway, to a design by Sir Nigel Gresley, it hauled the non-stop Flying Scotsman service between London King's Cross and Edinburgh. On 30 November 1934 it became the first steam locomotive officially recorded at 100 mph.

It has had several owners and a few close calls over the years. The National Railway Museum bought it in 2004, and after a long overhaul it returned to steam in 2016. It still runs special trips on the main line and visits heritage railways, so check the museum's announcements if you want to see it in steam.

What is the fastest steam locomotive?

Mallard. Another Gresley design, this streamlined A4 class engine reached 126 mph on Stoke Bank, south of Grantham, on 3 July 1938. Nothing powered by steam has gone faster since. Mallard is on display at the National Railway Museum in York, and standing next to that blue, wedge-shaped nose is quite something.

The Great Western Railway had its own claim. City of Truro was reported to have reached 100 mph in 1904, which would have made it the first. The timing has been argued over ever since, so Flying Scotsman's 1934 run is the one usually given as the first official 100 mph.

Famous diesels: the Deltics and the InterCity 125

Steam fans don't get all the glory. The Deltics, British Rail's Class 55, took over the fastest East Coast Main Line expresses from 1961. Powered by Napier Deltic engines, they ran at 100 mph and were famous for their noise. They worked the route until the early 1980s, and several survive in preservation.

Their replacement was the InterCity 125, or High Speed Train. It entered service out of London Paddington in 1976 and later took over on the East Coast too. In 1987 one set a world speed record for a diesel train of 148 mph, which still stands. HSTs worked the main lines out of Paddington and King's Cross for more than forty years, so for many people they simply were the railway.

The last and the newest steam engines

Evening Star was the last steam locomotive built for British Railways, a Class 9F completed at Swindon in 1960. Steam on the main line ended within a decade.

Then, in 2008, a brand new main line steam engine appeared. Tornado, a Peppercorn class A1, was built from scratch by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, the first new one in Britain since Evening Star.

Where can you see famous locomotives?

The National Railway Museum in York has Mallard and much of the national collection. Its sister site, Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham, has more. The Science Museum in London has Puffing Billy, and STEAM in Swindon tells the Great Western story. Our guide to railway museums in the UK covers them in more detail.

For engines in steam, Britain's preserved lines are the place to go. See our guide to heritage railways in the UK, and keep an eye out for gala weekends when visiting locomotives come to stay.

And if you know someone who could happily talk about Gresley for an hour, our gifts for trainspotters guide has ideas for them. Today's trains have their own appeal too: TrainTicker puts a live amber departure board for any National Rail station on a desk or shelf, and you can try it free with the live demo.