LONDON – Train-spotters are lining the tracks from London to the northern city of York to see a famous steam engine take its inaugural run with passengers after a 4.2 million-pound ($5.8 million) refit.
Shrouded in steam, the Flying Scotsman is making the journey up the east coast on Thursday. The train started at London’s King’s Cross station, where hundreds packed the platforms to take pictures and try to get a look.
Some 300 passengers are taking the five-hour trip.
Built in 1923, the train was a star locomotive of the British railway system and was the first to break the 100 mph (160 kph) barrier in 1934.
The National Railway Museum in York began restoring it in 2006 and will display it until March 6, when it begins a national tour.