A ROYAL visitor called in at Brighouse.
The regal guest made was making only a fleeting appearance in the town but delighted many.
The Duchess of Sutherland belied her 76 years to steam into town at 9.53am and then left a minute later to carry on her journey to Scarborough.
The Duchess is a 1938 steam locomotive, part of the Princess Coronation Class.
She was built in Crewe and completed in 1938 before going into service hauling passenger express trains across the country.
Yesterday she began her journey, fittingly, back in Crewe and travelled through Wilmslow and Stockport before calling in Brighouse to pick up passengers.
The journey then took her through Wakefield and York and on to the east coast.
Behind the gleaming locomotive were a series of 1950s and 1960s rail carriages.
The train was named “The Scarborough Flyer” and is part of a series of nostalgic journeys being organised this summer by The Railway Touring Company.
Train buffs were out in force at several of the stations to catch a glimpse of the Duchess, Number 46233.
Touring company spokesman Amanda Wilkinson said: “There is always a great deal of interest in these journeys.
“It is not just steam fans who enjoy the journey.
“The locomotives we use, like the Duchess of Sutherland, are beautifully restored and hark back to the glory days of steam rail travel in this country”.
