THE expected date to get historic steam locomotive Flying Scotsman back on the rails has been delayed until next year, National Railway Museum bosses have said.

The effort to get the train back into use was predicted for this year, but has been put off until summer 2011 because of a series of issues that occurred during the restoration process.

Flying Scotsman is currently based at the museum’s workshop in Leeman Road, York, where a team of engineers are working to restore it to its former glory.

Last year, the museum launched the Steam Our Scotsman appeal with the aim of raising £250,000 to get the famous locomotive, which was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and built at Doncaster works in 1923, back on the tracks. So far just over £140,000 has been raised.

Helen Ashby, the museum’s head of knowledge and communications, said problems during work on Flying Scotsman had pushed timetabling off course.

She said: “There’s been a series of issues.

“Some of the components that we have now had the opportunity to strip and check ready for replacement we have found to be more worn than we anticipated.”

She said to get the train tested in spring 2011 and fully in use by the summer of that year was a more “realistic programme” as almost all components had now been investigated.

Chris Beet, engineering and rail operations manager, said there had been a series of surprises along the way as work progressed.

He said: “Essentially, it’s a very big job and very time consuming.

“If you make a mistake with a very expensive piece of material then you’ve wasted your material and you’ve got a big time delay.”

But he said once Flying Scotsman was back in full working order, the sense of achievement would be huge.

Mr Beet said: “It’s been running longer now in preservation than it actually was when it was built.”