Back home! Videos and pictures of Flying Scotsman’s glorious return to York

Home at last: Flying Scotsman completes its inaugural journey at York Railway Station. Photograph: Richard McDougall

25 Feb 2016 @ 6.08 pm
YorkMix | History, News, Transport

Flying again… Flying Scotsman going at full tilt along the East Coast Main Line at Colton Junction, just south of York. Photograph: Nigel Holland

Flying Scotsman returned home to York on Thursday (February 25) to be greeted by a huge crowd of wellwishers.

Around 3,000 people crammed on to York Railway Station to welcome the legendary loco at the end of its inaugural run.

The record-breaking engine had set off at 7.40am from London Kings Cross to start the journey that marked the end of its £4.2 million, ten-year restoration.

On board were 297 people, many of whom had paid £450 for this very special ticket.

Among the passengers was Michael Portillo, the MP turned TV presenter, filming a unique episode of his BBC series Great British Railway Journeys.

Wellwishers gathered at vantage points all the way along the East Coast Mainline to cheer the Flying Scotsman’s comeback.

The train was nearly an hour late – delayed by people on the track near Cambridgeshire and Doncaster, apparently trying to take extreme close-ups of the Flying Scotsman on their cameras and smartphones.

If you missed the engine today, don’t worry – you have ten days to see it close up and in steam at the National Railway Museum.