It is full steam ahead once again for the famed Flying Scotsman locomotive, which is set to grace Britain's railway lines after a decade-long £4.2m restoration project.

The steam icon has been given a new lease of life after the National Railway Museum purchased it for £2.3m in 2004 before work began in 2006 to return it to its original splendour.

Ahead of its first passenger runs this weekend, trainspotting anoraks lined the route in Bury to welcome the esteemed engine and its celebrated green and black livery back to the national rail network.

The Flying Scotsman was built in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in 1923 and soon became the star locomotive of the British railway system, pulling the first train to break the 100mph barrier in 1934.

Last year it topped a poll of the world's best-known trains and locomotives following a worldwide survey by YouGov, where people across four continents were asked to name five trains or engines they had heard of.

Bury-based steam and diesel engineering specialist Riley & Son was appointed in October 2013 to complete the work on the 1923-built locomotive as well as manage and maintain it during its first two years of operation.

Company co-director Colin Green said he was "emotional" to see it moving again.

"These are the first stages of bringing it back to the main line and, despite being self-confessed men of iron, we're really quite emotional to see it move under its own steam at last after years of hard work."