Flying Scotsman to spend Christmas at Shildon Locomotion museum

The Flying Scotsman will open to the public in Shildon on Saturday

The Flying Scotsman locomotive will be spending Christmas at a County Durham rail museum as it ends it centenary year.

The historic steam engine arrived at Locomotion in Shildon from York's national Railway Museum on Thursday.

It will be at Shildon for three weeks.

Sarah Price from Locomotion said she was expecting "thousands of people" to visit the "world's most famous locomotive" when it opens to the public on Saturday.

She said it was "really exciting" to have the engine in Shildon and it was "fantastic" it was finishing its centenary year in the town.

"It's so evocative," she said, adding: "Visitors can get up really close to it and enjoy it."

The Flying Scotsman was built in 1923

She said the engine had been "all over the country" in 2023 and been seen by "lots and lots of people".

Visitors to Locomotion will be able to enter the cab and access the corridor tender, Ms Price added.

Clive Goult, the Flying Scotsman's fireman, said moving the engine was "hot and dirty work" but the "reward is the pleasure that everyone gets to see it".

He said its history was "phenomenal", adding: "Who would believe it's 100 years old? It's still in as good a condition as it was on day one."

Locomotion is part of the National Railway Museum and is free to visit, with the Flying Scotsman staying until 7 January.

The 97-tonne locomotive was built in Doncaster in 1923 and underwent an extensive renovation ahead of its centenary year.

The steam locomotive was the first in the UK to officially reach 100mph, and was the first-ever service to run non-stop from London to Edinburgh.