Who designed the Flying Scotsman

Q. And it's still going

A. Oh yes - but more of that later. First, a little history tracing the Scotsman's first 2.5 million miles. In 1924 the locomotive, the first to carry LNER's famous apple green livery, was exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition, Wembley. Four years later it was fitted with a unique corridor tender to enable it to haul the first non-stop train from King's Cross to Edinburgh on 1 May. This was the longest non-stop run in the world.

Q. So it was a record-breaker

A. And a superb one! In 1934 the Scotsman - a Gresley Pacific number 4472 - was the first steam loco to achieve an authenticated 100mph. And it sped on for 40 years' regular service, with modifications such as a higher-pressure boiler in 1947 and a double-exhaust arrangement and chimney to improve efficiency with inferior coal in 1959.

Q. But what about Gresley himself

A. A brief biog then. He was born Herbert Nigel Gresley in Dublin Street, Edinburgh, on 19 June 1876, fourth son of the Rev Nigel Gresley, Rector of Netherseale in Derbyshire. His grandfather was Sir William Nigel Gresley, ninth baronet. Educated at Marlborough College, he was apprenticed to Francis Webb at the Crewe locomotive works of the London and North Western Railway in 1893. By 1907 he was elected a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Civil Engineers. He designed his first articulated carriages in 1911, and rose to locomotive superintendent of the Great Northern Railway (1911-1922) when he joined the newly-formed LNER. He had been made a CBE for his services in the First World War and the first Gresley Pacific came into service in 1922.

Q. And that was his most famous design

A. Yes. And the 100th Pacific - built in 1937 - was named Sir Nigel Gresley in his honour. He was due to retire in June 1941, but died two months earlier from a heart attack.

Q. An important 20th-century man then

A. Yes, a true Great Briton.

Q. And what of the Scotsman then

A. The Flying Scotsman was withdrawn from service by British Railways in 1963 and was sold for preservation. More than 70 similar locomotives were scrapped, leaving the Scotsman as its class's sole survivor. It toured the USA from 1969 to 1972 and came home in 1973 to continue working special trains on the main line. It went to Australia in 1988 and 1989 to play a key role in the country's bicentennial celebrations - and set a new steam world record for a non-stop run of 422 miles from Parkes to Broken Hill in New South Wales.

Q. But train preservation is an expensive business, surely

A. Exorbitant. By 1995 the Scotsman was in pieces at Southall depot in West London due to the enormous cost of restoration to meet the modern stringent engineering standards of main line operation. But in 1996 Dr Tony Marchington bought the Flying Scotsman and pledged to restore it to its former glory. He was a man of his word and spent more than 750,000 doing so.

Q. And can you still take trips upon it

A.