Great Central Railway welcomes Flying Scotsman back to Nottingham

Flying Scotsman returned to the Great Central Railway Nottingham on Friday, arriving in Nottinghamshire for a series of special services towards the end of May. The locomotive will haul trains on the line where it worked more than 70 years ago.

Andy Fillingham on the return

Andy Fillingham, chairman of Great Central Railway Nottingham, said: "We are thrilled to be welcoming Flying Scotsman back to the East Midlands." He added: "We're very proud of the work of our volunteers in reopening the railway to visitors and this should bring awareness of our superb attraction to new people."

The visit comes after the heritage railway was temporarily closed because of the Covid pandemic and repair work. Flying Scotsman travelled down to Nottinghamshire on Friday in readiness for the special services.

Flying Scotsman and the Great Central Main Line

The locomotive has a longer link to the area than this weekend's arrival suggests. It was based in Leicester in the early 1950s, when it worked on what is now the Great Central Railway Nottingham, then part of the Great Central Main Line.

Flying Scotsman also pulled trains on the Great Central Main Line in the early 1950s, before later being taken to Derby for restoration after it was brought back to the UK in 1973. Alan Pegler bought the locomotive in 1963 for £3,000 after it had been destined for scrap.

Today, Flying Scotsman resides at the National Railway Museum in York. Its return to Nottinghamshire gives visitors a rare chance to see the engine back on a line tied to its passenger-service past, while the railway uses the visit to draw attention to its reopening.