A HISTORIC locomotive which was on display in Shildon as part of Mallard’s anniversary celebrations has steamed back to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Steam engine Sir Nigel Gresley left Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon today. (Tuesday, February 25)

The engine is the latest of the six remaining A4 class locomotives to leave Shildon where they have been on show during the nine-day long The Great Goodbye.

The Northern Echo:

The exhibition honoured Mallard becoming the world’s fastest steam engine when it reached a speed of 125.88mph on July 3 1938.

Pam Porter, events officer at Locomotion, said: “The museum car park was fairly busy and there were people about to see Sir Nigel Gresley leave.

“We all knew that we would be busy during The Great Goodbye, but visitor figures have exceeded all expectations.

“The majority of people have had a really good time and they have enjoyed seeing the engines.”

The Northern Echo:

Mallard left the museum yesterday (Monday, February 24) when fellow A4 Union of South Africa pulled it back to the National Railway Museum, in York.

The fourth of the locomotives, Bittern, will leave Locomotion tomorrow (Wednesday, February 26) at 9am. The museum is to open at 8am for visitors to see the departure.

The last two A4s, Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada, are to remain on show at Shildon until the end of the Easter holidays.

It is unlikely that the six A4 locomotives will ever be on show in one place again.

Museum bosses at Locomotion estimated that 72,000 visitors would view the engines during The Great Goodbye, but instead nearly 120,000 people headed to Shildon.