A HISTORIC locomotive that has set two world records for steam traction is set to make its official return to the tracks later this month following a decade-long £4.2m restoration project.

Flying Scotsman, which became the first steam locomotive to be recorded at 100 miles per hour in 1934, will be driven from London to York on February 25, more than 52 years since its last run on the East Coast Mainline under public ownership.

The National Railway Museum said its test run programme for the locomotive was under way, after one of the most complex and lengthy overhauls of a steam locomotive ever undertaken.

The runs are being held alongside series of celebratory events and exhibitions in the coming months at its York and Shildon sites.

Flying Scotsman, which also set a record in 1989 for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive, roared into life last month as a live museum exhibit and on Saturday will become the oldest working steam locomotive on UK mainline railways, with a passenger-carrying test rescheduled for the Settle-Carlisle line.

The museum is inviting rail enthusiasts who would like to ride behind the locomotive on February 25 February the chance to win one of five pairs of tickets worth £450 each in a prize draw.

For details, visit flyingscotsman.org.uk/inaugural-prize-draw before midnight on Sunday (February 7).