TRAINSPOTTERS enjoyed a rare glimpse of one of the world's most famous steam locomotives.

The iconic Flying Scotsman flew through Flintshire on Friday as it made its way to and from Holyhead.

First seen in Saltney, the Scotsman could be viewed passing through areas including Sandycroft, Shotton, Flint and Mostyn.

The locomotive was built in Doncaster becoming the first locomotive of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).

By 1924, when it was selected to appear at the British Empire Exhibition in London, the loco had been renumbered 4472 – and had been given the name ‘Flying Scotsman’ after the London to Edinburgh rail service which started daily at 10am in 1862.

The British Empire Exhibition made Flying Scotsman famous, and it went on to feature in many more publicity events for the LNER.

In 1928, it was given a new type of tender with a corridor, which meant that a new crew could take over without stopping the train. This allowed it to haul the first ever non-stop London to Edinburgh service on 1 May, reducing the journey time to eight hours.

In 1934, Scotsman was clocked at 100mph on a special test run – officially the first locomotive in the UK to have reached that speed.