IT had been missing for nearly two years. But at 11.19am it hauled passengers through York Station to mark its golden jubilee.

Once a familiar sight in the York, the Deltic 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier returned to the city on a direct journey from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the powerful Deltic diesel locomotives were the mainstay of services on the East Coast Main Line, before the advent of High Speed Trains.

December 31, 1981, was the last time a Deltic hauled a scheduled passenger train for British Rail. But to mark the 50th anniversary of its prototype, the Deltic Preservation Society organised a "Thames Flyer" excursion.

The production Deltic locomotive is on show at the National Railway Museum, in Leeman Road, York.

Updated: 10:53 Monday, April 25, 2005