This is a documentary about the famous visit of the ?Flying Scotsman 4472? an old steam train from Britain. The Flying Scotsman spent a year in Australia in 1988 and visited nearly every town and city that has a railway station. I can remember an early morning quick trip down to the rarely used train station in a small country town in NSW with my very excited family to ?see the Flying Scotsman?. So it was with great interest that I picked up this DVD to watch.

Of course the DVD is full of statistics and facts about the famous train and the visit to Australia. Each trip the train made was recorded in film to be made as a documentary and all the characters involved help make this great story just waiting to be told. The DVD is full of footage of the journey including old newsreel and official footage of the major events. The train and it?s band of crew travelled around Australia for months attending everything from the largest steam festivals to small country towns who just wanted a ?look? at the famous train. The video recording on this DVD is a keepsake of record-breaking trip.

All the major journeys are covered the mammoth trip from Sydney to Brisbane with another engine helping to pull the train, the official NSW welcome, and of course the incredible journey of the Flying Scotsman and the Ghan in outback Australia.

At times the footage and narration is a little slow and takes on the format of a 1970?s documentary, mixed with a home video, but the film itself is great. Aside from being simply a DVD on trains, there is also the footage of country Australia and the fashions of the day; all of this is well worth watching. Amazing footage of the train being loaded and unloaded in the dock of Sydney by a giant floating crane; the only one large enough for the job in the whole of Australia. The visit of the Flying Scotsman to Australia was an event that will stick in the memories of all involved and this DVD celebrating the successful journey is a great historical record.

Anyone with an interest in Australian history in general will find this an amazing DVD to own. This DVD is a must have addition to any quality home collection. This is 120 minute walk down memory lane, and well worth the effort, and with Christmas just around the corner this DVD would make an excellent gift for the “man who has everything”!

THE EXTRAS

Bonus feature “Pure Steam” a documentary on the history of the steam engine - don’t miss this it really is a “bonus” feature and well worth the time spent watching this.