Flying Scotsman back on track after 16 years

The Flying Scotsman will return to Britain's railways after a 16-year absence. Picture: Contributed

The Flying Scotsman locomotive will return to Scotland in May for the first time in 16 years after its major restoration is finally completed, the National Railway Museum in York announced today.

The former east coast main line express engine will haul a train from York to Edinburgh and then travel over the Forth Bridge into Fife as part of a four-day tour from 14-17 May.

The museum said the 1923 locomotive’s £4.2 million overhaul was nearing completion and it would make its inaugural return run between London and York in February.

Head of operations Jim Lowe said: “With its new BR Green No. 60103 guise, Flying Scotsman will be starting a new chapter in its long and fascinating history as the oldest mainline working locomotive on Britain’s tracks.

“The steam icon will be the same colour as when flamboyant business man Alan Pegler saved it from the scrapheap in 1963, and after a decade-long restoration where it has been literally taken down to the bare bones, the frames, it will probably be in the best condition it’s been in since the comprehensive overhaul it received at Doncaster Works that year.”

“Along with all our generous supporters for this complex project, we have all been looking forward to the day when Flying Scotsman is once again running on Britain’s tracks and can be enjoyed by the thousands of people who will ride behind it and catch a glimpse as it travels past.”