Video: Delight as Flying Scotsman makes surprise unannounced visit to Doncaster

The iconic loco, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, made a brief visit to Hatfield and Stainforth station yesterday en route to the National Railway Museum in York from the East Lancashire Railway.

Although the visit hadn’t been widely advertised, dozens of railway enthusiasts in the know gathered along platforms and embankments to catch a glimpse of the legendary dark green loco as she steamed through.

The loco will make a proper visit to the city to mark its 100th birthday later this year.

The locomotive which rolled out of Doncaster’s Plant Works in 1923, is celebrating her centenary with a series of events across the country – but the city was not scheduled to be a stopping point.

But both Mayor Ros Jones and the National Railway Museum have confirmed that the loco will now stop off in Doncaster at some stage this year.

She said: “The Flying Scotsman is coming home.

“We have been in discussions with the NRM for over a year to get the most famous locomotive in the world to visit its birthplace of Doncaster as part of its centenary celebrations.

“I went to Edinburgh as part of the centenary celebrations to press our case at the highest level and I am pleased to say that our calls have been answered.

"I can now share with you that we have been successful and Doncaster will be getting a visit!

“The Flying Scotsman was built right here in Doncaster, it means a great deal to the people of Doncaster whose relatives helped to design and build her. It will be incredible to see it return home as part of its centenary year.

“The logistical arrangements are complex and we will give an update when we are able to do so.”

In a tweet, the NRM said: "The NRM is committed to getting Flying Scotsman to Doncaster as part of its centenary celebrations.”

The engine is perhaps the world’s famous steam locomotive, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley at the Hexthorpe Plant and which first entered service on February 23, 1923 and becoming the first loco to reach 100mph in 1934.

Video: Brad Moore