IT has chugged across the country for more than 70 years.

But this weekend will be the last chance North Yorkshire gets to see the historic Green Arrow locomotive.

Green Arrow was in action last weekend as part of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) festival.

However, a routine inspection on Monday revealed that two tubes in the locomotive's boiler had leaks.

A more detailed mechanical examination was conducted once the engine had gone cold, which showed two of the Green Arrow's super heater flues were found to have cracked.

With less than a month of operation before the historic locomotive's boiler certificate had expired, it was not feasible to embark on a repair programme because it would take more than eight weeks.

As a result, Green Arrow has now finished her working life and will now be preserved for the nation on static display. Helen Ashby, head of knowledge and collections at the National Railway Museum, in York, said: "Naturally, we are very disappointed Green Arrow has been unable to see out her final days of steam, but we hope the public will still take the opportunity to say a fond farewell to this hardworking veteran."

Now having finished her working life on Yorkshire soil, it is planned that Green Arrow will be on display at the NYMR for the weekend's LNER Steam Festival.

Arrangements will then be made for the well-known locomotive to go to Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, County Durham.

Green Arrow was built in 1936 and has been a familiar sight across Yorkshire in the past few years, hauling charter services between York and Scarborough.

It was built at Doncaster and entered service after being painted in LNER's Apple Green livery.

After the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, Green Arrow was re-numbered 60800 and re-painted in black British Railways livery. She returned to green in 1958.

The locomotive was withdrawn from service in August 1962 and in 1975 it was transferred to the NRM in York.

The engine was in steam for the opening ceremony, performed by The Duke of Edinburgh, in September 1975.