A rare locomotive model made an exclusive visit to Epping Ongar Railway yesterday ahead of their annual Diesel Spring Gala.

The class 25, D7612, model pulled in for a short visit where it will play a starring role alongside diesel engines this weekend.

Courtesy of South Devon Diesel Traction, the train will be returned to the South Devon Railway at the end of June.

Class 45 "Peak" locomotive 45132 will also be on headlining the Spring Gala, with cab and engine room visits potentially available too.

A statement released by Epping Ongar Railway said: “The locomotive has been successfully started and there may be a few staged start-ups during both days.

“All trains will be running in conjunction with our fleet of Heritage buses, which will be operating between Ongar, North Weald, Epping Underground and Shenfield National Rail stations.

“As usual we will be running a three-train intensive service throughout the weekend with late running Real Ale trains on Saturday, April 27.

The train bars will serve guests a selection of draught beers, wines, lagers and soft drinks, and, on the Saturday evening, we will be running our Real Ale Train.

The Diesel Spring Gala will take place from Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April, 28.

For more information, visit https://www.eorailway.co.uk/events