Watch: Famous old steam engine departs Shrewsbury - another chance to see it on Tuesday

Express passenger locomotive Blue Peter stopped in the county town at lunchtime at the halfway point of its circular route, which saw it travel from Crewe to Shrewsbury via Chester, Wrexham and Gobowen in the morning.

Stopping off at the sidings at Coton Hill in Shrewsbury at lunchtime, it built up a head of steam before returning to Crewe via Wellington, Penkridge and Stafford.

It is due to repeat the journey again on Tuesday, giving enthusiasts another chance to see it.

A passing Transport for Wales service arrived on the scene just in time to see the engine and all its carriages pull off from the sidings, giving passengers a glorious view of the scene.

And from the live updates it may have been caught up in disruption caused by a trespasser on the line.

Timings, published on the Star website showed the train's moving off times, which gave onlookers the chance to get to various vantage points.

Blue Peter is a lovely steam engine that shares its name with the popular children’s TV programme and, of course, the maritime signal.

The engine is no stranger to Shropshire and was caught on video by the Star back in April.

The locomotive, 60532 Blue Peter, is A2 class express engine, it was one of 15 built by the London & North Eastern Railway, and latterly British Railways, in the late 1940s.

Blue Peter was completed in early 1948 and spent nearly all of its working life in Scotland until being withdrawn from service in 1966. The other 14 members of the class were taken out of service between 1962 and 1966 and scrapped.

Despite being named after a racehorse, its association with the children’s show of the same title began in the late 1960s as enthusiasts bought the loco and restored it. A Blue Peter is also a blue signal flag with a white square in the centre that is used to flag indicating that a merchant vessel is ready to sail.

In 1994 it suffered extensive damage during a catastrophic uncontrolled wheel slip, when its driving wheels reached a rotational speed of 140mph as the locomotive pulled away from a stop at Durham, before parts of the motion disintegrated. After an 18-month repair job, the loco ran on the mainline until September 2001 before being withdrawn completely for overhaul in 2002.

The Blue Peter remained on static display until 2015 when its overhaul got under way in Crewe. It made its first movements in late 2023 before being taken by road to the Severn Valley Railway in March of this year.

Here are the expected timings for the engine's visit to key stations in Shropshire and Staffordshire.

Crewe H.S. 09.40

It will head through Chester [CTR], and Wrexham General [WRX] before passing through Chirk [CRK] at 11.31

Gobowen [GOB]: 1135

Shrewsbury and to Coton Hill T.C. 12.08

The return to Crewe will start at Coton Hill T.C. 13.32

Shrewsbury [SHR] 13:38

Wellington (Shropshire) [WLN]: 13.59

Oakengates [OKN]: 14.04

Telford Central [TFC]: 14.06

Madeley Jn (Salop) [XMD]: 14.08

Shifnal [SFN]: 14.12

Cosford [COS]: 14.19

Albrighton [ALB]: 14.20

Codsall [CSL]: 14.24

Bilbrook [BBK]: 1425

Stafford Road Jn Wvrmptn: 14.29

Penkridge [PKG]: 14.49

Stafford [STA]: 14.58

Madeley (Staffs): 15.18

Crewe [CRE]