A STEAM engine got its own ticket to ride – when it was transported on a flat bed lorry through Severnside villages last week.

The engine was on its way to the The Royal Festival of Steam at Dean Forest Railway this Friday to Sunday (June 15 to 17), where train buffs can get all steamed up about the chance to drive their own engine at Norchard Station.

Tickets for the ‘Driver Experience’ are available on a first come, first served basis.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to ride the DFR’s Queen Mary brake van, offering great views of the Forest scenery and the sight of the locomotive, working hard, up close.

Forest of Dean Model Railway Club members will be displaying their layouts at Norchard station in the Severn and Wye Room, while the café will be open and serving refreshments.

Appearing alongside DFR’s own steam engines, the first visiting engine is a BR Ivatt 2MT Tank no. 41312, courtesy of the Watercress Line in Hampshire.

Built in 1952 at Crewe, the loco spent the majority of its working life on the Southern Region, including stints at Faversham, Barnstaple, Brighton and Bournemouth, and it’s the first time a locomotive of this type has ever visited the Forest

The second visitor is WD Austerity no. 75008 ‘Swiftsure’, which has been receiving repairs at Norchard since last years gala, and is officially returning to steam at this year’s event.