THE chief executive of the struggling company that owns the Flying Scotsman warned last night the legendary locomotive could be sold off in months unless the firm gets final approval for a new visitor centre beside Edinburgh's Waverley station.
Peter Butler's appeal to the authorities to save the national icon came after shares in
Flying Scotsman plc were suspended in the wake of poor financial results.
The former Tory MP said: ''It's becoming urgent. We can't hang on forever.''
However, his plea yesterday appeared destined to fall on deaf ears, amid confusion over who is responsible for rubber-stamping the Market Street scheme.
Mr Butler said Network Rail, the track and station owner, ''only had to give the nod'' and the centre could be built and running within 18 months, but this was denied by Network Rail, which owns a small part of the land on which it would be built.
A spokeswoman claimed ultimate approval lies with a combination of Edinburgh City Council, the Strategic Rail Authority and the Scottish Executive. Edinburgh City Council, denied Flying Scotsman's claim that its executive team had ''unanimously approved the plans in principle'' last year.
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