Flying Scotsman to steam back into Doncaster this week

The world famous Flying Scotsman will steam back into its Doncaster birthplace this week.
The Flying Scotsman will be back in Doncaster this Thursday.The Flying Scotsman will be back in Doncaster this Thursday.
The Flying Scotsman will be back in Doncaster this Thursday.

The iconic locomotive, which has returned to the rails after a decade long £4.2 million restoration project, will steam from London King's Cross to York on Thursday, slowing down as it comes through Doncaster to allow fans a glimpse of the world's most famous steam train.

The locomotive’s return to the National Railway Museum at York kicks off the Scotsman season with a flying start during Flying Scotsman’s ‘birthday’ month – the engine was built at Doncaster and completed in February 1923.

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Museum Director Paul Kirkman said: “Along with all our generous supporters for this complex project to bring a 1920s-built cultural icon back to life, we have all been looking forward to the day when Flying Scotsman is once again running on Britain’s tracks. We are so thrilled this historic day has finally come to pass."

“We hope the public will join us to welcome Flying Scotsman home. We will be showing it in light steam in our North Yard and then it will finish off as the centre of attention on our Great Hall turntable. As well as seeing the icon out and about on Britain’s tracks in 2016, the public can experience the essence of Flying Scotsman first-hand at our museum, through a series of innovative and colourful exhibitions and events.”

The locomotive is considered by many to be the world’s most famous after its name topped a National Railway Museum poll late last year.

On 30 November, the anniversary of Flying Scotsman being the first locomotive to officially reach 100mph in 1934, the Museum announced the results of a YouGov survey carried out online across four continents that put the steam star right at the top of the train league table, beating the Orient Express into third place and Stephenson’s Rocket and Hogwarts Express into 14th and 25th. Respondents in the UK, US, India and Australia were asked to name five trains or locomotives they had heard of.

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Exact timings of the Flying Scotsman's returned to Doncaster have not been revealed but the loco will be setting off from London early in the morning and arriving in York after lunch. The loco will slow down through Doncaster and sound its whistle.