A 98-YEAR-OLD VIP made two "flying" visits to the region and had its army of fans out in force to see it. Arguably the world’s most famous steam locomotive, the Flying Scotsman traversed County Durham once and North Yorkshire twice. Last Thursday en-route to Edinburgh the steam icon passed through Thirsk, Northallerton and Darlington, spending the weekend hauling excursions around the Scots capital. Fans who spend some time waiting to see the locomotive met with mixed success. One enthusiast from the North-East merely got a picture of a cloud of steam when the weather conspired to spoil her efforts.