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January 2016 saw the famous steam locomotive Flying Scotsman returned to the tracks for its first public appearances in steam for more than a decade.

The locomotive made its first test runs on 8th January 2016 following a £4.2m restoration project. One of the world’s most iconic railway locomotives, the Scotsman has been restored for York’s National Railway Museum (NRM) in a shed in Bury by specialist Bury-based engineering firm Riley & Son Ltd (Link Manchester Evening News photos of the restoration). The Scotsman made a number of runs under full steam between the East Lancashire Railway stations in Bury and Heywood ahead of two full weekend of events on the East Lancashire Railway Link (Scotsman in Steam).

The locomotive was in its wartime livery of black, rather than its famous green. After the test runs and Scotsman in Steam weekends, Flying Scotsman is scheduled to return to the Bury workshop where it was restored to be transformed by Blackburn-based firm Heritage Painting into its famous British Rail green livery ahead of a full mainline run between Manchester and Carlisle later in January and a “welcome home event” at the National Railway Museum in York in late February. The locomotive’s return to the NRM will then kick off the ‘Scotsman season’ during its birthday month - the engine was built at Doncaster and completed in February 1923.

Postscript: The Flying Scotsman returned to the East Lancashire Railway (wearing its Brunswick green livery) in October when it operated the Bury to Rawtenstall service for four days between Thursday 13th and Sunday 16th October.

Flying Scotsman 2016 Programme Link National Railway Museum

The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) is a heritage railway based in Bury. It is currently (as at July 2022) operating between Rawtenstall and Heywood, with intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, Burrs Country Park, Summerseat, Ramsbottom and Irwell Vale, respectively.

The original East Lancashire Railway Link opened in 1844, beginning as a railway from Clifton via Bury to Rawtenstall. It was later amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Parts of the network remain in use today, and the section of the original line between Bury and Rawtenstall is now operated by the heritage railway.

After formal closure by British Rail in 1982, the line between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat was reopened on 25 July 1987 as a new heritage railway. In 1991 the service was extended northwards from Ramsbottom to reach Rawtenstall, via Irwell Vale and in 2003 an eastbound extension from Bury to Heywood was re-opened. To reach Heywood the extension had to cross over the Metrolink line to Bury, at the site of the former Bury Knowsley Street station. This necessitated the construction of a new intersection bridge, with steeply graded approaches of 1 in 36 and 1 in 41 nicknamed 'The Ski Jump'. The heritage line is now just over 12 miles long, and has a mainline connection with the national railway network at Castleton, just beyond Heywood. The ELR plans to extend the running line further into Castleton in the future, to where a new (and separate) platform named "Castleton Village" will be constructed adjacent to the main station itself (Link Manchester Evening News).

The railway is run by volunteer members from the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society (ELRPS). The railway is well known for its collection of diesel locomotives which reside on the railway, along with over 140 carriages, wagons and utility vehicles. It is open every weekend of the year and holds a number of themed events and galas throughout the year which include steam and diesel events amongst others, and also offers driver experience courses.

Link East Lancashire Railway Website