The world's most famous locomotive, the Flying Scotsman is to visit East Anglia this week. The locomotive is expected in Norwich from Wednesday and is due to depart on Saturday. Andrew Stone looks at 10 interesting facts about it.

• The Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley and initially numbered 1472.

• By 1924, when it was selected to appear at the British Empire Exhibition in London, the loco had been renumbered 4472 - and been given the name 'Flying Scotsman'.

• In 1934 Flying Scotsman set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100mph.

• It also set a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 422 miles (679 km) on August 8, 1989 while in Australia.

• The Flying Scotsman retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 2,076,000 miles (3,341,000 km) but has since gained considerable fame in preservation.

• As well as hauling enthusiast specials in the United Kingdom, the locomotive has toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Australia.

• The locomotive is due in Norwich at approximately 7pm today after departing Ely at around 5.30pm and steaming across the Fens.

• On Saturday, October 21, the legendary locomotive will depart from Norwich for London at approximately 2pm and travel via Ely and Cambridge.

• It draws so much attention that authorities issue warnings that anyone wanting to view or photograph it do so from a safe vantage point.

• To avoid overcrowding and incidents of trespass, viewing points and a timetable of when the train will pass through specific locations is not published.

• Flying Scotsman's inaugural run was marred by several incidents of trespass and resulted in 8 hours of delays to 59 services.