THE Flying Scotsman has arrived on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway like a superstar.

Driving to Grosmont, a tiny village in the hills above Whitby where the Scotsman begins its journey, it was impossible not to notice the small side roads and tracks thick with rows of parked cars. People were sitting on walls, leaning against fences, crouched in fields with long lenses, hoping to snap her as she steams by.

It's difficult not to get a bit swept up by the romanticism of steam trains. It's like stepping back to a more civilised time, when they did travel right. And it's a thrill, too, to watch the rocky hills of the moors drift by the windows, intermittent forests of gnarled old oak trees wreathed in the pale steam from the engine, and to glimpse the gleaming Scotsman at the fore of the train.

It's no wonder it has been so very popular. Tickets were fully booked within days. When an extra four carriages were released around Christmas, demand brought the NYMR phone lines down.

One couple along for the ride were Allan and Jackie Wall.

Allan Wall has history with the locomotive. "I drove it," he said. "Twenty-two years ago, on the East Lancs Railway. Bury up to Ramsbottom. It was a one-off, a retirement present."

He has the certificate and the jumper to prove it. "That was just before the refurbishment," he added. "It went from Bury to Llangollen, and it was dragged off into the sheds and we haven't seen it since. Now it's re-emerged."

Mr Wall hadn't seen the engine yet, such were the crowds on the platform at Grosmont. They were planning to photograph him on board, mirroring his experience 22 years before.

When the Scotsman pulls into Pickering, the platforms are packed. The little bridge is heaving. People of all ages, too. Some have followed the train from Grosmont. There is no human celebrity on Earth who could rival this level of interest.

The Scotsman's journeys along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway are being staffed by an army of volunteers.

Gerald Morrill is train manager for the day. He's normally a ticket inspector for NYMR but such are the numbers it was decided to have a train manager on board.

Mr Morrill is one of four who will oversee the journeys over the seven days.

"It's our role to make sure everybody has an enjoyable day," he said. "If there's any particular problem, we try to sort it out.

"It's a good job. You see lots of people, they're all having a nice time, you talk to them, you engage with them. They like that as well."

Mr Morrill's job involves patrolling the train, from one end of the eight 60ft carriages to the other, and back again. He produces a little gizmo from his pocket and looks at it. "So far today I've walked 3.45 miles."

Mr Morrill wasn't a particular railway enthusiast before joining the NYMR. "We moved up from down south and we just loved the line. Planning for retirement and I decided I'd volunteer. About one day a week I volunteer."

Another volunteer ticket inspector is John Hudson, who is the on-train steward for the day.

He said: "It's good fun. You meet lots of nice folks. I'm not surprised it's so busy. But the number of people standing in the fields, and lining the roads - that's amazing."

Back in Grosmont, the several hundred passengers disembark and several hundred more climb on. Millions more photographs are taken by thousands of cameras. It's a brief residency on the moors railway, just seven days in total, but there are surely few other locomotives which could do it in such style.