The world-renowned Flying Scotsman will steam through parts of Greater Manchester later tonight as it celebrates 100 years in service.
The famous green steam locomotive first took to the tracks on February 24, 1923, setting off on its inaugural journey from the sheds at Doncaster Works.
In 1928, it hauled the first ever non-stop London to Edinburgh service, reducing the journey time to eight hours. Then, in 1934, Flying Scotsman was clocked at 100mph - the first locomotive to have ever reached the speed.
Flying Scotsman is owned by the National Railway Museum and operated and maintained by Bury-based Riley & Son Ltd, the company which carried out a £4m restoration project to restore the engine to its former glory. The beloved engine surprised travellers on Friday morning as it pulled into the Scottish capital Edinburgh to celebrate 100 years in service. It arrived at Edinburgh Waverley station, where celebrations took place to mark the centenary.
According to a timetable published on RealTimeTrains, Flying Scotsman should pass through Littleborough railway station at 11.14pm tonight, followed by Smithy Bridge then Rochdale, arriving at Rochdale from around 11.20pm.
From there, it should pass through Castleton railway station on its way back to the East Lancs Railway in Bury at 12.30am on Saturday.
Times are, however, always subject to any delays.
The locomotive, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, was originally built in Doncaster for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and first emerged from the works on February 24, 1923.
A year later it was renumbered and given the name Flying Scotsman - named after the London to Edinburgh rail service which started daily at 10am - when it appeared at the British Empire Exhibition.
At today's ceremony in Edinburgh, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage read out a poem called The Making Of The Flying Scotsman to mark the event.
He rode on the locomotive as part of the process of writing the poem, in which he describes how the world famous steam engine 'coughed into life' and features 'vast steel circumferences' and 'rippling bodywork pouring with sweat'. He said he was struck by 'this incredible coming together of both mechanics and metaphysics'.
Dancers from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society performed The Flying Scotsman, devised by Hugh Thurston in 1966, and the event was rounded off with a set by Celtic rock band the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
The National Railway Museum in York, where Flying Scotsman is a working exhibit, has organised a centenary programme featuring events and displays.
Judith McNicol, director of the museum, said: "Edinburgh Waverley is a fitting location to mark the centenary of the world’s most famous express passenger locomotive.
"It was here that Flying Scotsman completed its record-breaking, non-stop journey between London and Edinburgh in 1928, and Edinburgh is also the birthplace of Sir Nigel Gresley, Flying Scotsman’s designer.”
She said the locomotive will spend the rest of 2023 travelling across the country to allow as many people as possible to see it in its 100th anniversary year.
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