VIDEO & GALLERY One of Britain's best-known steam locomotives has made a triumphant return to its old stamping ground in East Anglia.

ONE of Britain's best-known steam locomotives has made a triumphant return to its old stamping ground in East Anglia.

Oliver Cromwell, a “Britannia” class pacific , produced a stunning performance on its return to steam on the Great Eastern main line.

There were some minor glitches on the trip - but none of them the engine's fault and an unscheduled stop at Ipswich station merely gave the hundreds of onlookers the chance to stand and marvel for a few minutes at the ultimate development of the British steam locomotive.

The train was a few minutes late through Ipswich because previous service trains had been delayed by signalling problems.

It was due to run straight through the station, but was forced to stop to allow a previous train to pass through a section of the line.

A large crowd of photographers had gathered at the station to record the historic trip - many of the enthusiasts could remember when Britannias ruled the Great Eastern, but there were also several youngsters catching a rare glimpse of a huge steam train on the main line.

Oliver Cromwell was one of a class of 53 steam locomotives ordered by British Railways shortly after nationalisation and entered service pulling express trains from London to East Anglia in 1951. Only two survive today.

It is due to return to East Anglia with a repeat of yesterday's run on Saturday week, September 20.

There are still a few tickets left for this trip, and they can be ordered through charter train operators Steam Dreams whose website is www.steamdreams.co.uk