Sarner International and Figment Productions have been appointed by the Science Museum Group to design and build a new immersive experience to coincide with the centenary of the world famous locomotive, Flying Scotsman.
First unveiled in February 1923, Flying Scotsman consolidated its reputation in 1934 when it was clocked at 100 mph, becoming the first steam locomotive to have officially reached that speed. It came to symbolize all that is speed and style, not least because it starred in one of British cinema’s first “talkies” in 1929 and the Flying Scotsman train service carried innovations such as a cinema car, cocktail bar and hairdressing salon.
Aside from telling the story of Flying Scotsman, the new attraction will celebrate engineering brilliance and explore the science behind steam power. It will use a combination of a themed physical environment delivering an AV preshow, followed by a free-roam VR experience using untethered VR technology.
The experience is set to embark on a centenary tour of the U.K. before being installed as a permanent offer at the newly transformed National Railway Museum in York.
Bradley Wynne, Creative Director, Sarner International: “Flying Scotsman is central to the history of railways in the U.K., and it is a great joy to be able to explore this legacy in this new groundbreaking attraction. The design will set a new standard in STEM education through innovative immersive storytelling as well as world class levels of accessibility, ambitions that drive our teams at both Sarner and Figment”.
Simon Reveley, CEO, Figment Productions: “We’ll be doing things with this experience that we’ve never been able to do before; exciting new techniques that have unique relevance to the museums and heritage sector. Using our own Hyphen hyper-reality platform, we’ll enable guests to ‘step inside the movie’ — seeing all aspects of Flying Scotsman’s story.”
Mark Cutmore, Head of Commercial Experiences, Science Museum Group: “The Science Museum Group is committed to telling authentic stories in innovative ways, and this immersive experience will allow us to share Flying Scotsman’s 100 years of history in a completely unique way. Audiences will be able to get closer to Flying Scotsman than ever before, meet the people involved in its incredible history and understand why this engineering marvel is regarded by many as the world’s most famous locomotive. We’re really excited to be working with Sarner and Figment on the project to create a truly inspiring celebration of the Scotsman, its history, engineering and the science behind steam locomotion.”
The attraction is due to open in 2023 at the National Railway Museum, York, and at Locomotion in Shildon County Durham.
