Yes nice to see the “Scotsman” back in steam after such a long time.
It will be in its black (wartime) livery for a short while before being repainted into BR (Brunswick) green. The number 60103 is its BR (post 1947) number. There are no plans currently to display it in LNER “Apple” Green or with its 4472 number but it will undertake an intensive programme of mainline runs in the coming months.
All class A3 Pacifics (of which the Scotsman is the only preserved survivor) had “Kylechap” double chimneys fitted in the 1950s. These had been first fitted to the streamlined A4s (“Mallard” types) but when fitted to the non-streamlined A3s drifting smoke and steam obscuring the driver’s view posed a problem. To cure this most of the A3s had German type smoke deflectors fitted. These “elephants’ ears” are the type now fitted to the Scotsman and they are authentic for the time period in which the locomotive is currently depicted.
I was lucky to be a “train spotter” in the late 1950s and early 1960s and my “patch” was the East Coast Main Line from Kings Cross. I often saw the Scotsman and many of its Pacific stablemates. It was an everyday occurrence for us to see these fine machines ploughing their way northwards with their heavy trains.