A MAJESTIC steam engine lumbered onto the A1 as it headed to a new home.

The Blue Peter was being moved to its final destination after travelling more than 5,000 miles on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

It will spend its retirement delighting railway enthusiasts at the Darlington Railway Museum.

The Blue Peter, in service since 1948 and used on express trains from York to Newcastle and London, was named after a 1939 Derby winner.

It was restored shortly after being bought for preservation in 1968, and renamed by the presenters of the BBC children's programme Blue Peter, which has followed its activities since.

Programme makers filmed its move to Darlington.

Updated: 11:24 Friday, April 11, 2003