M6 returns to the steam age

Our transport correspondent Keith Wilkinson came across this rather unusual sight on the M6 motorway today.It's a steam locomotive heading by lorry to the Severn Valley Railway in Worcestershire.

80072 will be chugging up and down on the heritage railway between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, starting with this weekend's Spring Steam Gala.The Standard tank locomotive, built in Brighton in 1953, spent more than 20 years in a scrapyard but was saved and restored by enthusiasts.

The engine was today being transported by road from the North Norfolk Railway and is pictured here in a layby close to the turn-off to Lutterworth in Leicestershire.

It will be moving again after its three-week stint on the SVR - to the steam railway at Llangollen in Wales.80072 used to pull trains between Leamington and Birmingham and was once a familiar sight at Snow Hill.