People can take a trip on The Flying Scotsman thanks to three special weekends at a heritage railway.
The 102-year-old locomotive is considered one of the most famous in the world, having been the first to reach 100mph and to circumnavigate the globe.
Over the last weekend of February and the first two weekends in March, the 97-tonne Flying Scotsman will be hauling passenger trains on the Nene Valley Railway, which runs for 7.5 miles between Yarwell, Wansford and Peterborough.
People can travel on The Flying Scotsman at Nene Valley Railway in February and March
It is the first time the loco has pulled passenger trains since 2023, and so presents a good opportunity for people to do something special. There will also be the chance to have photos taken on the footplate.
Once The Flying Scotsman weekends are over, Britannia will be pulling passenger trains on March 15 and 16 at Nene Valley Railway, with day rover tickets available as well as driver experiences.
Both The Flying Scotsman and Britannia will also pull the Jolly Fisherman evening fish and chip train, on February 22 and March 15, respectively.
Britannia pulls the crowds at Nene Valley Railway in 1981
The special weekends are part of Railway 200, which commemorates the opening of The Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.
They will also support Nene Valley Railway’s Back on Track appeal to raise £300,000 to replenish the charity-run attraction’s funds, which were depleted by covid closures and continue to be affected by the cost of coal. Just over £80,000 has been raised over the past few months.
The Flying Scotsman started life in 1923 as just one of Sir Nigel Gresley’s A1 class of locomotives and was rebuilt as an A3 after the Second World War. It was named after the LNER Flying Scotsman service between London and Edinburgh.
Tickets to be aboard The Flying Scotsman go on sale from nvr.org.uk at 3pm on Thursday (January 16). Services will depart from Wansford at 9.30am, 10.50am, 12.10pm, 13.30pm and 14.50pm and wheelchair access is available.
Britannia came into service in January 1951 and hauled London to Norwich trains before becoming a regular engine for The Hook Continental, connecting London to the Netherlands. Tickets for driver experiences and passenger tickets aboard Britannia can be booked now at nvr.org.uk
Drivers must be aged 18 or over.