Following an appeal backed by The Northern Echo, one of the most famous icons of the steam age has been brought North. Stuart Mackintosh reports on a legend's arrival.

IT was the day railway enthusiasts, tourism bosses and just the plain curious had been longing to see.

After weeks of planning and the successful completion of an operation which required military-style planning and precision, one of the country's most famous locomotives was finally in Darlington.

Named after the Lord Rosebury-owned Derby winner of 1939, Blue Peter had hardly showed the same kind of pace as its equine namesake on its cumbersome journey to the town's North Road Railway Museum.

But after its epic trek from Newbridge Yard, in Pickering, North Yorkshire, the classic engine was last night being readied for public display.

Workers from GCS Johnson, the Barton haulage firm which made the move possible, unloaded Blue Peter at the site, where it had been stored on Thursday night.

It will now form the centrepiece attraction of next weekend's heritage celebrations at the museum, which organisers hope can be turned into an internationally renowned centre over the next four or five years.

Plans for Blue Peter to be brought to Darlington were launched in February, with the help of The Northern Echo, and attracted considerable interest from enthusiasts.

And the journey from the North Yorks Moors proved an eventful experience for all involved on Thursday - including a crew from the Blue Peter television programme, which filmed it along the way.

The 60ft, 161-tonne locomotive came to the town on two low-loaders, one for the engine and one for the tender.

Once winched into place, the journey began, under police escort, and along routes which did not pose the danger of narrow roads, or low or weak bridges.

From Pickering, the slow-moving cargo headed for the nearby town of Malton. After that, came the complexities of the York Ring Road, before it could be brought up via the A1.

Drivers passed by in awe at the mammoth load, before it turned off to begin the most critical phase of the operation - the move into Darlington.

With the tender in storage at Barton Lorry Park, the engine was pulled into Darlington, where it passed through the town centre before heading for the museum.

Acting heritage manager John Wilkes said: "It was a lengthy and complicated process."

But the process will be worth it for enthusiasts when Blue Peter is placed on public display in the next few days, which will further enhance the town's international reputation as the birthplace of the railways.

Trolley gift a boost for project

RAILWAY enthusiasts who are working to reopen a redundant line have welcomed an addition to help them with the task ahead.

Members of Weardale Railway Project were presented with a 1962 Whickham trolley - a vehicle which was designed to carry people to work on railway lines - by JFM Hire, in Darlington, yesterday.

Paul Stephenson and his brother, Keith, who are direct descendants of George Stephenson, and Peter Crossley, sales and marketing manager at JFM, chose to donate the vehicle to the Weardale Railway despite receiving calls from people all over the world who wanted to buy it.

The railway project chairman Dave Foxton said: "They get a lot of inquiries from different countries about Whickham trolleys, but they would rather give it to people like us who are working on railway preservation.

"People will come from all over the country just to see this. A lot of the young people who are working at Stanhope are really looking forward to having a ride.

"This will be a tremendous help to us when we are working on the line, because it means we do not have to walk down the line.''

The trolley cannot be used on the line yet, and had to be transported to Stanhope, County Durham, where the project is based, by lorry.