ONE of history’s finest locomotives steamed into Swindon’s train station yesterday.

The 12-carriage Cathedral Express was being hauled along the Bristol line by a big green Royal Scot, which posed an interesting sight for commuters as it took a 10-minute pause for breath in Swindon.

Some, however, knew the legendary machine was due to make an appearance.

Train enthusiast Eric Barnes-Staple, from Oxfordshire, had made the trip to Swindon just to see the locomotive in all its glory.

A passionate Eric said: “It’s wonderful to see these things still running in this day and age. These machines were built to last and it’s incredible to see them.”

Passengers sat in the carriages eating afternoon tea and drinking wine as the steam machine, which seemed a startling anachronism, pulled into the station.

Built in 1927, the Royal Scot was the flagship locomotive of the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company, operating the fastest services on the West Coast from London to Manchester and Glasgow.

In 1933, she was taken to the United States and Canada and chosen to appear at the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago.

She returned to the railways in Britain in 1950, officially retiring in 1962.

After an overhaul lasting serveral years she returned to mainline service in 2016.