Rother Valley Railway has issued an update about GWR locomotive No. 4270.

Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust (RVRHT) has secured a 10-year loan of the locomotive, allowing the Trust to use the loco to help further strengthen the fleet operated by the Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR).

With the line due to be extended from Bodlam to Robertsbridge Station, the K&ESR needs a larger fleet. Last year, it agreed with its owner that Class 205 Unit No 1118 will be at the Railway for the foreseeable future.

Part of the loan arrangement for No. 4270 sees RVRHT enter into a partnership with the 4253 Locomotive Group. Based at the railway’s Rolvenden Workshops, the Group will be responsible for the work required to return No. 4270 to service and will then oversee its use on the K&ESR.

Earlier in April, 4253 Locomotive Group Engineer Henry Mowforth and director Charles Masterson joined Mike Hart of RVRHT to visit the One-to-One collection at Margate in Kent, where the locomotive is currently being displayed.

The three men met with the owners’ representatives, Locomotive Services Group Head of Steam Locomotive Engineering, Creagh, and Steam Loco Production Manager, Ben. Together, they carried out an inspection and a schedule of the condition of locomotive 4270. The inspection confirmed that the engine is in excellent condition in general. However, its boiler is due to be removed for a ten-yearly examination and for its boiler tubes to be replaced before it can return to operational duties.

The current plan is to move locomotive 4270 to Rolvenden soon, which will enable the boiler to be removed, repaired and fitted back in the engine. The Group’s own locomotive, former Great Western Railway 2-8-0 tank engine No. 4253, is making good progress towards entering service, so workers will be free to work on 4270’s chassis. This will involve lubrication checks, piston and valve examinations and other tasks. Once completed, the boiler will be refitted and the engine commissioned into service.