More than 1,000 people came to see a steam locomotive legend hit the tracks of the Bluebell Railway for the first time on Thursday morning.
It will be making trips up and down the line over the next few days during a week-long stay.
Reporter Luke Jarmyn was invited along to experience what it's like to travel on the Flying Scotsman. Here is his report on the experience ...
Time disappears as I sit aboard the 19th century GNR saloon carriage on a Thursday morning being pulled by the most famous steam locomotive there is.
Cruising along the Bluebell Railway I am one of a lucky few hundred to be pulled by the train and one of only several in the plush 120-year-old carriage made famous by its appearance in The Railway Children film.
If my camera's photos were in black-and-white, the pictures would be identical to all those years ago when the Flying Scotsman ran the seven-hour-plus non-stop route from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh.
Talking to the fellow passengers, words like "wonderful", "once-in-a-lifetime" and "special occasion" are banded around but none seem to do the occasion justice.
As I look out of the windows, at the top of my view is a plume of white steam while people are waving from nearby houses or lining the route in fields.
As we pass smoothly through Horsted Keynes and Kingscote stations on the 10am service to East Grinstead from Sheffield Park, the stations are filled to the brim with people wishing to get a shot of the LNER Class A3 4472 train built in 1923.
Being one of the lucky ones on-board makes you feel a mix of a celebrity and the railway's version of part of an entourage.
While travelling at a modest 25mph, which is the maximum the train is allowed to go and far slower than when it became the first steam locomotive to break 100mph in 1934, the ride is far smoother than your everyday rail or car journey and across the two compartments we have a buffet selection of sandwiches, pastries and drinks to choose from.
Carriage steward Trevor Summerfield, dressed in a white-jacket with gold buttons, said: "This is the result of annual maintenance work that we do from painting, to cleaning and refitting. There is a group of us that look after the carriage for special occasions for the public and this is the most special."
Sitting there, you wish all trains had the relative comfort of the GNR Saloon, with the bathroom being twice as roomy as the average aeroplane cubicle. Is there any other way to travel?
As we run back through the long tunnel, halfway down the line, there is a line of people at either end including a postman stopping off on his round to take a look.
The whole day is a bit of a whirlwind. When arriving on to the Sheffield Park station platforms on a a bright and brisk morning, a Scottish band of pipes and drums called the Gatwick Caledonian are playing while more than 100 people excitedly queue to be the first of the week to go on the train.
The lucky few have been there since 5am but there is nothing but sheer delight radiating from their voices.
After I had my own chance to experience the wonder of being pulled on the Flying Scotsman, getting off at Sheffield Park was even more bizarre as the platforms which were reasonably busy when I left were absolutely filled with people trying the get a glimpse of the train before it left again.
It was also a chance for the drivers to change over and speaking to one of the drivers, 36-year-old Chris Hunford, who has been one of the railway's 700 volunteers since the age of 12, I should be saying thank you to him but he resonates how he "feels privileged to be the first Bluebell Railway driver for the first day".
As I leave the action-packed station after the Flying Scotsman departs once again, whether you are one of the 8,500 people lucky enough to get a seat on the train until its final journey on Wednesday, April 19 or just see it pass by, privileged is the word.
