Flying Scotsman Tour of Texas exhibit opening at the Slaton Harvery House

LUBBOCK, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) - Please join us for the opening of an important collection of photos and memorabilia from the 1970 Flying Scotsman Tour of Texas.

The Flying Scotsman was a world famous 1930′s era United Kingdom steam engine. It was the first locomotive to be able to sustain 100 mph speed. The engine came to the U.S. in 1969 on an exhibition & trade tour promoting United Kingdom exports.

Mr. Bill Wagner was a college student from Illinois who traveled to Slaton to bring a “railfan” display for the train’s summer of 1970 USA exhibition tour. He was an amateur photographer and took hundreds of photos documenting its time in Slaton, as well the tour across Texas and the Midwest as he chased the train on its U.S. tour.

The Flying Scotsman was housed in the Slaton Roundhouse for the winter of 1969, until it departed in June for its 1970 USA tour.

These 1970 photos have never been seen or published, until now.

A book has been published to tell the story of its Texas tour: The Flying Scotsman’s Summer of 1970 Texas Tour: - Photos and memories by Bill Wagner

This Saturday, Jan. 8, the exhibit, along with a book of photos and remembrances by the author will be unveiled at the Slaton Harvey House. The exhibit will run until March 31.

The Slaton Harvey House is a 1912 structure built to serve meals to railroad passengers on the Santa Fe Railroad. It has been restored as a museum and bed & breakfast inn, operated by the non-profit Slaton Railroad Heritage Association.