A WORLD-FAMOUS locomotive is set to steam through Clackmannanshire once again this year.

The Flying Scotsman will be hauling carriages around the Forth Circle in May, with provisional tour dates now available.

There will be morning and afternoon specials as steam engine No. 60103 sets off from Linlithgow on Sunday, May 19.

It will then steam over the Forth Bridge, onto the Fife Coast and Circle, then along Culross, Kincardine, Alloa and Stirling.

The afternoon train is scheduled to take in Dalmeney and Inverkeithing.

Bookings will not open until early-March, but a provisional programme is available from the operator SRPS Railtours.

Roger Haynes, commercial director at SRPS, said: “We are delighted that in May, Flying Scotsman will haul our Forth Circle steam specials which cross the iconic Forth Bridge and feature the Fife Coast and Stirling Castle along this scenic route around central Scotland."

The dates are out in advance and may be subject to change while other excursions are also being planned.

The National Railway Museum, the owner of the world-famous loco, which was due to be scrapped in the 60s, is working with tour operators to put the train on tracks around the UK this year.

Jim Lowe, head of operations at the museum, said: “I am pleased to announce Flying Scotsman’s touring schedule for 2019 which will once again give the public the opportunity to see this magnificent example of British engineering.

“The schedule will give people a truly memorable experience with a mix of exciting main line tours that will travel across the UK, as well as visits to preserved heritage railway lines.

“As ever, I would like to remind people wishing to see Flying Scotsman, to do so in safety and to ensure they do not trespass on the railway line.”

The steam engine was originally built in 1923 in Doncaster for the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway and was the most powerful of locomotives at the time.

By the following year, it appear at the British Empire Exhibition in the capital, had been renumbered 4472 and given the Flying Scotsman name after the daily London to Edinburgh rail service, which started in 1862.

It was the first loco in the UK to clock 100mph during a special test run in 1934.

For details on the service, visit srps.org.uk