Flying Scotsman to pass through Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby

The iconic steam engine will pull carriages through Wellingborough, stop at Kettering and travel over Harringworth Viaduct via Corby on a trip from Ealing Broadway to York on Saturday, June 29.

Huge crowds are expected to line the tracks to gain a glimpse with an estimated 2,000 people turning out last time it visited the county.

Rail campaigner David Fursdon said: “We have had the Flying Scotsman in the north of the county about three times recently and when it travels along the area from Kettering to Manton, combined with Harringworth Viaduct, people come from far and wide.

“It’s the most famous of them all and it always gets people of all ages out to see the sights and smell the smells.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR PICTURE GALLERY FROM THE FLYING SCOTSMAN’S VISIT TO NORTHAMPTONSHIRE LAST YEAR

The locomotive will travel on the Midland Main Line from Bedford before leaving the line after Kettering to take the former Midland Railway Nottingham direct line.

It will pass through Corby’s station, climb the famous Harringworth Viaduct and then on to Wing Tunnel, Manton Junction and Oakham before stopping at Melton Mowbray and then going further north.

Approximate timings are:

9.47am Kettering Station

9.55am Corby

10am Gretton

10.05am Harringworth Viaduct

10.15am Manton Junction

10.20am Oakham

It will then return diesel-hauled in the evening, stopping in Kettering to set down passengers at 8.37pm.

Designed by Edinburgh-born Sir Nigel Gresley in 1923, the Flying Scotsman was created to haul the Edinburgh-London express train on the East Coast main line.

It was the first steam locomotive to reach 100mph in 1934 and set a record for the longest non-stop run at 422 miles in Australia in 1989.

It was later restored at a cost of £4.5m at York’s National Railway Museum.

The trip is the latest iconic steam engine journey in the area after the Duchess of Sutherland passed through Northamptonshire on March 9.

Spectators on June 29 are being asked to not trespass on the railway or private property and to ensure their viewing spot is safe and legal.