A LOCOMOTIVE is back on track and set to take thousands of youngsters to see Santa after being rescued from oblivion.

Merlin the tank engine, which the Shildon-based Merlin Locomotive Group, spent more than a decade restoring, has been transported to York to work on the Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) and is now hauling trains down the line to see Santa each weekend in the run up to Christmas.

The 1939 0-4-0 Peckett Saddle steam loco is exactly the same as Percy the Tank Engine from the Reverend Wilber Awdry's stories.

A DVLR spokesman said: "The determined and die-hard volunteers from Darlington rescued and rebuilt Merlin over an 11-year period at a cost of £137,000, collected from private donations and fundraising events.

"The historic and delightful Murton Park station has even been decorated for the event, and parents get to enjoy sherry and a mince pie."

The engine would stay at the former privately owned standard-gauge railway in North Yorkshire permanently, and would again run services next year, starting at Easter and running through the summer.

The Santa Specials are running each Saturday and Sunday in the run-up to Christmas and will also run on Monday, December 22 and Tuesday, December 23.

For tickets, costing £6 for adults and £8 for children, call 01904-489966 or visit murtonpark.co.uk