The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
It’s full steam ahead for Jellicoe Express tribute
Wartime: Train helped take troops from one end of Britain to the other
A train that helped allied forces steam to victory during the First World War has been honoured at a ceremony in Perth.
The Jellicoe Express transported troops and mail from Thurso to London on a daily basis during the global conflict.
The service was established to serve the far north of Scotland because the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet was based at Scapa Flow, Orkney, requiring personnel to be moved from London and across the country.
The service is credited with carrying nearly 500,000 people between February 15 1917 and April 30 1919, as well as taking the fleet’s mail.
It regularly chugged out of Euston Station at 6pm and arrived in Thurso the following day at 3.30pm, a distance of 717 miles.
To mark the centenary, the service – Britain’s longest ever train journey – has been recreated by the Railway Touring Company.
A steam train pulled into Perth Railway Station yesterday afternoon to coincide with a plaque unveiling ceremony, marking the Fair City’s role in the Jellicoe Express story.
Provost Liz Grant said: “Perth was a key stop for the service. We should also not forget the dedicated group of local volunteers who set up and ran the Perth Patriotic Barrow at Perth Railway Station during the First World War.”
“At the barrow, members of the armed services could get tea, cigarettes and a snack. The soldiers were extremely appreciative and gave the volunteers donations that would raise some money to keep it stocked.
“I believe some of these donations included bullets.”
The service was named after Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, the commander of the Grand Fleet who led the British forces at the Battle of Jutland in June 1916.
The only other time the Jellicoe Express operated was in the Second World War. Plaques to mark the centenary have also been unveiled at Inverness and Dingwall.