The Flying Scotsman 2023: Time you can see locomotive travelling through Peterborough today

The iconic and majestic Flying Scotsman will be briefly stopping at Peterborough railway station today, as part of the Centenary Programme.

In celebration of this historic milestone, the train will also be visiting various heritage railways and taking part in a number of day excursions throughout the year to mark its centenary year, so fans can catch a glimpse of it for themselves.

It's already visited a number of places including Edinburgh's Waverley station, and the National Railway Museum, York.

It comes as the express passenger train first entered service on 24 February 1923.

It was designed by chief engineer Nigel Gresley and built at Doncaster’s London North Eastern Railway works, known locally in South Yorkshire as the Plant, however, it is now owned by the National Railway Museum.

Visitors to the National Railway Museum will be able to discover new stories about Flying Scotsman in their special centenary exhibition.

Guests will travel through time and share the engine’s greatest moments in a brand-new cutting-edge VR experience also, so they can feel what it was like to travel on one of those maiden journeys.

So, when can we see the train in Peterborough?

On Friday, 30 June the train will steam ahead on the East Coast Main Line from London Kings Cross on the 7.50am service, arriving at York at 3.11pm.

Passengers will hop on at London King’s Cross, traversing the East Coast Main Line northwards up the gradient through Gasworks Tunnel and Finsbury Park, passing through Stevenage and Huntingdon.

Then, it will call at Peterborough at 10.10am, to take on more passengers, stopping for just four minutes, before passing through New England North Junction, Werrington Junction, Helpston Junction and Tallington Junction.

Passengers will then tackle the 15-mile climb up the famous Stoke Bank before a fast run down the 20-mile descent to the Trent Valley and on through Grantham, then Newark, and Retford.

The journey forms part of the centenary weekender, from June 30 to July 4, giving passengers the choice to stay onboard and travel to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth and Dundee before farewell to Scotland and homeward bound.

Train bosses have issued a strict warning: “This service is expected to be extremely popular with many people going to see this train. Please use safe vantage points to see and take pictures of the train – stay clear of the line and do not risk your safety or that of others by trespassing on the tracks. Thank you.”