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Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 8:43 pm
by SW4Girl
HI!

I am trying to find out about my grandfather, who was a driver on the Flying Scotsman. If anyone can help me find out more info on his employment - or tell me how I can find this out - I'd be very grateful. I don't know much about his work history but I know he worked on the railways for most of his life - and the flying scotsman was one of his regular trains.

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:28 pm
by SW4Girl
sorry - should have said he was from Preston, Lancashire, and was born in 1898 - he died in 1977. He also served in WW2

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:40 pm
by silverfox
Sorry to be a pedant, but a bit more info, where he lived, etc. might help to narrow it down. A lot of the British public get confused with the Flying Scotsman locomotive and the named train The Flying Scotsman which during it time was hauled by many different locos ,including Flying Scotman. The NER has a lot to answer for!!
Anothe fly in th ointment is his location. If he was rom Preston, he 'could' have driven the trainThe Royal Scot which was an LMS company. They also fell into the trap of loco and train of the same name as well!!
I apologise if i sound like a bringer of bad tidings,but a lot of people get the two mixed up. As the Journalists still to to this day. Point it out and you are laughed off as an anorak tainspotter, the fact they dont know 'A from a bulls foot' means nothing. Well thats my rant. We are here to asisst in anyway possibly, dont let my grumpy old man outburst put you off!

Ron

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:51 pm
by Mickey
Just to expand a bit more on what silverfox pointed out there was a train called 'The Flying Scotsman' that departed Kings Cross station at 10:am daily with the Down Flying Scotsman train for Edinburgh Waverley station also there was a corresponding Up Flying Scotsman train that departed Edinburgh Waverley station at 10:am as well for Kings Cross station these trains included a guard (or 2 guards?) as well as 2 or 3 staff working in the kitchen/pantry car preparing food and maybe 2 or 3 waiter's working at the dining tables serving food in the restaurant car along with a driver & fireman (the footplate crew) on the locomotive it's self plus a second or 'change over' footplate crew riding on the cushions inside the train who would swap over at the midway point in the journey with the other footplate crew on the locomotive while the train was still running this was done without stopping via a narrow corridor in the tender that lead from the train carriage behind the tender to the locomotives footplate.

Also as silverfox pointed out there was and still is a Gresley A3 pacific locomotive called Flying Scotsman that ran in L.N.E.R. & British Railways days until early 1963 before being withdrawn from service by British Railways and being bought privately by Alan Pegler a business man who had it restored to it's former L.N.E.R. glory days with her old 4472 number complete with a 'double-tender' (with extra water capacity) due to the removal of the last few water troughs along the east coast main line in the late 1960s and who ran her for several years in the late 1960s in britain until British Rail banned steam locomotives altogether running on there system at which point Alan Pegler took Flying Scotsman locomotive over to the USA for a couple of years 'on tour' in the early 1970s (and nearly lost her when he run out of money?) but she eventually made her way back to the UK and thats the locomotive thats still with us today.

Mickey

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:49 pm
by strang steel
I suppose Mickey that the confusion could be lessened somewhat if everyone referred to the train as "The Flying Scotsman" and the locomotive "Flying Scotsman".

Although given our current media, the idea that there is a difference between a train and a locomotive is probably beyond most reporters.

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:38 pm
by Mickey
Yes your correct John my mistake i've amended my post.

Mickey

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:07 pm
by strang steel
Sorry Mickey, I was not having a dig at you. It was just a more general point that the public might get their heads around (but possibly not).

Re: Frederic (Freddie) Spencer

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:15 pm
by Mickey
I never took it that way John no problem.

Mickey