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Tuesday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm Sunday 9am - 5pm

4253 Locomotive Company, Rolvenden Station, Rolvenden (2026)

14/06/2026

The team were hard at it for the normal 3 days this week .
Tuesday, we started work in lovely bright sunshine, this soon changed to monsoon style rain, then bright sunshine again and then more rain we were trying to fill the 36-ton crane boiler up a to start getting ready to steam test for inspection the team finally achieved this taking all morning between the rain.
We tightened all the mud holes again then lit up warming it slowly and finally into steam, then another session nipping up the mudhole doors, just before it made steam we discovered the pressure gauge was missing so we went to find and fit it and brought the boiler into steam a few small leaks to be rectified, by the end of the day we had tested the safety valves as well all ok we can move on now.
The team removed the petticoat pipe from the smokebox of 4253 to drill the splitter bracket fixing holes and open the fixing holes to the correct size as well, when this was all done a quick rub down of the petticoat pipe and the new bracket, then a coat of heat resistant paint on both bits it’s now ready to put back up to allow all the oil supply pipes to be bent and trial fit ted .
The bunker for 5164 still had all the water we put in at the weekend so we drained it out so we can now finish the painting and fit the access covers on the top coal floor .
Team crinoline were filling and rubbing down the drivers side elephant ear top and bottom sections then welded the last bit on then repainted it , the fireman’s side was fitted on the boiler and the bands put on as well , the driver’s side is rubbed down and primed ready for filling and then it will go up on the loco. The top plate was painted and will be put up hopefully this week before the topping out ceremony takes place; the bunting is all ready to be put up as well .
Friday , we returned to the bunker of 5164 and started the final rub down so we can complete the painting everything was rubbed down, we touched up the undercoat where necessary after we had done the few repairs that were required where people had been climbing in and out ,so we are now ready for the final coat to be applied, the bunker will be then completed and it can make its way in the world .
Work on the crane was completed by draining and resealing the mud hole which had a small leak it will be filled at the weekend and retested ready for the boiler inspector to come ant test.
The firebar bearer brackets returned from the machining that has been done so the brackets are now in place and fit perfectly ,we made a new stud box as the one that used to be at Rolvenden everyone had seen it but no one could find it, so we can now fit all the foundation ring studs .
The last of the crinolines were filled then rubbed down and painted there all ready to go up along with the firebox top sheet as well, we did some work on the lubrication pipe cove that fits on the smokebox by cutting to semi circles out to fit over the rivets around the smokebox .the petticoat pipe was put back up with the new splitter bracket and oil splitter bolted in place so the pipework can be completed .
Sunday, the team continued with various things today including continuing work on the main steam pipe glands cutting all the bits to fill the small gaps due to the shape of the pipes, then the fireman’s unit was put back on the loco as we need to weld the filling bits in situ to avoid any distortions of the pipe .
We started to make the patterns for the bespoke firebars for the new rocking grate we cut up the sheets the were taken to the carriage and wagon dept for final cutting on their saw bench .
While all this was going on the 36-ton brake down crane boiler was being refilled after we had tested it last week and had a leaky mudhole door which was removed and refitted .
Thanks to everyone who came along to help keep it all moving forward to nearer completion .

07/06/2026

This week we just for a change had no extra days just the 3 on projects apart from meeting the K&SR new co sec.
Tuesday , the green undercoat with coat hooks was rubbed off the finished elephant ear section and repainted with green primer, when it was dry the blemishes were filled with filler ready to be finished off Friday ,work on the driver’s side continued hopefully to be completed this week .
The gutter brackets we are repairing for the (WWG ) the first batch were welded together and the rest are cleaned ready for welding when all completed, they will be primed .
The 36 -ton brake down crane had the chimney liner and top cover re-fitted along with the mud hole doors ,washout plugs and fusible plug all fitted its now ready to fill up and put back into steam and call back the boiler inspector and the crane test engineer to test to put it back into service .
Other works included taking down the first pair of brackets for the firebar bearer so we can fit the studs permantley ,we also got the petticoat pipe out of storage and hoisted it up into the blower ring in the smokebox , then all the fixing holes were marked with a drill for the centres then we removed it so we can drill all the holes without having to be contortionists to achieve the drilling of it .
Friday, we had a day of completing jobs starting with the fireman’s side ear section which was rubbed down and painted after all the blemishes were sorted out so it now can have a rest no more up ,down, up on the loco, second job was to finish the gutter brackets for the (WWG)after the welding was done then dressed and all primed ready to be picked up .
Third job was to complete the front firebar bearer brackets with trimming of the studs and fitting them, we then made slight adjustments to the brackets to make sure they fitted to the foundation ring correctly .
The new job we started making a bracket for the lubrication splitter unit that fits on the petticoat pipe and supplies oil via the main steam pipes to the cylinder block from the hydrostatic lubricator, the bracket holds the unit in place after it was cut out, we drilled the first set fixing of holes in it .
Sunday, we started the day putting the fireman’s side main steam pipe covers in place with a little up, down and a little trim then put them up again now ready to weld onto the smokebox fixing plates this was then done then the process was repeated on the drivers side this took most of the day .
Next job was to drill all the fixing holes in the petticoat pipe then put it back up again we then made a template to be able to bend the lubrication splitter bracket to the correct shape then drilling the fixing holes in it ,we then marked out the petticoat pipe for drilling for the bracket fixing .
The team fitting the bearer bar brackets were under the loco marking the back brackets for drilling when all marked out, they were put on the radial drill for drilling then they were bolted in place on the foundation ring with the bearer in place back all completed .
The brake ejector exhaust pipe had the second fl**ge brazed on and fitted to the front tube plate, then second section of the pipe was cut to length and trial fitted to the blower ring .
We also filled the bunker of 5164 for a water final water test all went very well .
Thanks to everyone who helped this week on the projects keeping things moving .

31/05/2026

The week was quite different to normal it was hot but as ever we kept going for 3 days working 1-day for other activities.
Tuesday, started with more work on the ear sections this is the norm for 4253 these days we are getting there honest its just a very time-consuming exercise to get things right .
The final, final , final, trimming took place of the fireman’s side ear top section and the bottom section was being cut bent and welded as well so completion is not far away ,the drivers side is coming together as well .
Other work was working on the 36-ton brake down crane stripping the components off ready for the boiler inspectors visit this involves removing the inner flue pipe the chimney cap and cover this needs for us to get up on the roof to remove these ,also removing the boiler washout mud hole doors, removing the fusible plug and washout plugs for the boiler inspectors inspection access .
Thursday, picking up the fire bar bearer bars and brackets and the studs to hold everything place on the foundation ring of 4253 that have been machined for us by the RH&D Railway (thanks to Sean and Martin ) then meet Keith the boiler inspector for the crane inspection this was done and with a satisfactory outcome, (passed)so we can now reverse the procedure and get it ready for a steam test inspection .
Friday , we started by carrying on the Pat testing (portable appliance testing )of our equipment this is an ongoing operation, next job stripping the gutter brackets from Rolvenden mess room then cleaning them before welding and finally painting them helping the (Wednesday Working Group ) with their project .
You guessed it more work on the ears bending ,grinding, cutting and welding this for the driver’s side and we had meetings supervised and unsupervised as well, we then started to try all the new studs in the foundation ring then putting up the firebar bearers brackets .
We made some points ( thanks Liam) from old studs to screw in the holes in the foundation ring so we can mark for drilling the two outside holes as we only had the centre hole drilled in the brackets ,as some of the holes are enlarged so we having to fit step studs so we make sure it all fits correctly .
Sunday, a varied day indeed we started work on the main steam pipe covers bolting together then taking to the loco in the shed to start the trial fitting to the smokebox cover plates we needed to dress them a little to allow for them to be welded together this involved putting them up taking them down and repeating a few times the lads thought they had joined the crinoline team .
We got the blower ring out of store with all the fl**ges and fittings them moved to the front of 4253 and the lifted up attached to the hoist into place and bolted to the underside of the chimney and then fl**ges and fittings put on the blower ring and front tube plate .
We were having tea when the Rolvenden signalman came and asked was there a steam driver as they needed to bring the train back from Northiam station underpants were put on over trousers and capes put on and the crew set off, in the meantime we collered the thumper drivers second man to take over when the train returned so we could get on .
The next job was marking and then drilling the firebar carrier brackets on the foundation ring we got 2 brackets done and the front carrier bar put up ,while this was going on the pipework for the brake ejector was being bent to shape and 2 fl**ges bored out to the correct size to fit the pipework.
When we were having tea, the signalman came and asked can anyone drive the digger as the loco wants coal lots of us replied YES we can drive it but sorry we have no keys and we are not passed to drive it, not for the want of asking .
So, a very interesting day indeed thanks to all who came and toiled in the heat this last week thanks to all.

24/05/2026

This week more days than normal sorting things out things plus working on the projects as well.
Tuesday the team started working on various bits,
for 4253 which included many crinoline meetings taking place, the main steam pipe covers had the stops welded in them this is to stop the packing glands moving too far when tightened up then after welding they were rubbed down and primed to protect them.
The throat plate cladding had the holes enlarged to give more wiggle room on the bolts when fitting this was then done then we started to roll the doubling plate that fits under the top firebox cladding sheet to give more support for the whistles it was cut to size and then drilled ready for riveting it onto the cladding sheet .
Next was the start of fitting the bottom sections of the elephants ears after the top sections were fully welded together, we are hoping that these don’t take as long as the top sections took to complete, we will keep you updated .
The brackets that hold the plate that sits over the superheater header for protection had extensions welded on them as we had to alter them slightly, they just need a new hole drilling and re fitting in the smokebox .
Wednesday, meet the contractors who are doing a safety upgrade to the shed doors this was paid for by the 300 club and 4253 jointly, they will go up and down by using magic buttons and not a chain when completed .
Thursday, we took delivery of GWR 4270 from the One-to-One collection at Margate to join the K&ESR fleet getting ready for opening to Robertsbridge this is a joint venture between Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust and 4253 Loco Co Ltd to benefit the K&ESR, more details of time scales will follow shortly and your chance to help this project.(thanks to Frim and team for their help )
Friday , the team continued with various jobs on 4253 which included marking and drilling the holes in the extended brackets for holding the protecting plate above the superheater header then bolting them up into position in the smokebox .
More work on the bottom sections of the elephants ears which is very time consuming to say the least up, down, up again take it down bend put it back up fiddle push and twist suck air through teeth, puff out cheeks until it fits .
The fixing of the doubling plate for the whistles support was bolted on the underside of the top cladding sheet and reamed ready for riveting it in place. we then riveted it to the sheet it was then marked out for the holes to be drilled then holes tapped for the fixings to hold the whistle bracket in place .
Sunday, we completed the main steam pipe covers that included the gland sections with all the studs fitted every part was numbered as well so we know where it all fits, we bolted them together they all fitted perfectly this little exercise took half the morning to complete. Tea was taken.
Thanks to everyone who helped this week with working on the projects and with the movement of 4270 from Margate to the railway .

17/05/2026

This week we continued the work on 4253 and 5164 for 3 days again .
Tuesday was meeting day a meeting here a meeting there and another meeting somewhere else this was all part of the crinoline teams annual conference, they were working on the ears yet again making more bits and trial fitting then putting them up, taking them down, welding and trying again then fit they have got them on now I think it will be fully airtight .
Work on other things included work on the 36-ton crane including sorting out all the trimmings from the axle boxes either remaking or replacing with new ones, we also remade the template for the bottom holes of 5164 bunker as the one we made earlier had warped a little.
A trip to the RH&D taking drawings to Martin for studs we need made and firebar brackets that need machining as they are new castings along with the firebar carriers that need a machined edge on them .
Friday, the team set to work having a go at finishing the ears it was a very busy day indeed with lots of making bits and fabricating sheets bending and fitting them, getting them ready for the final weld to be done this weekend , this involved up, down, bend, tack weld and then refit hopefully they are all done now .
Straight onto the throat plate next with cutting it to the correct size to fit we even drilled 2 holes and welded nuts on the back of the plate then screwing bolts in for handles making it easier to lift up under the boiler barrel , we could then fit the holding brackets to the cladding ,then lots of band tightening and aligning it’s now all up ready for welding , we had a report of a comment being heard in the shed of that will do this has not been confirmed yet .
Sunday , the team set to work on 4253 & 5164 we started with cutting out a rivet in the bunker that we found was leaking on the water test so we can rectify the problem before we are happy and release it to the owning group (we found no amount of porridge, egg white or cow poo would stop the leak) .
The work on 4253 started with the blocks on the main steam pipe covers welded into position then the bottom packing rings were marked then drilled and had the holes threaded for holding studs.
Next was to lift the regulator box up onto the studs this was done by first man handling it into the smokebox then with a hoist chain down through the chimney and lift it up onto wood blocks and push it on , next was to fit the steam pipes from the regulator box to the superheater header .
We found the new brackets we made for the cover plate for the header needed a slight adjustment so theses were removed heated and adjusted to miss the steam pipes with a slight grind to make sure they don’t rub on the pipes .
Job 3 for 4253 was to weld all the elephants ears together around the firebox which was completed we can now move forward with completing the cladding on the loco .
A very good and productive day we had getting all the jobs we set out to do and thanks to all who came along this week keeping things moving forward .

10/05/2026

This week for a change we worked on the 4253 & 5164 projects for 3 days.
Tuesday, we decided to give all our readers an insight of the life of men with big ears, the team started by taking the ears down from the loco a thing that only happens about 20 times a day on average to do more of what they have done many times before ,today they started with welding them together where they had been split to allow them to follow the boiler shape .
Second job was to put the ears into the hydraulic press to bend the bottoms slightly so they can connect to the bottom sections then put them back up on the loco again to try them for the correct fit and repeat the process again to stop them getting bored .
Work on 5164 bunker is drawing to a close with the coal space having its bitumastic coating applied on the sides and top coal floor just leaving the floor unpainted until we have finished trumping all over it ,before we fit the access hatches lids until complete the water test on the bunker .
Friday, we continued with the work on the bunker of 5164 which included dressing the weld on the fire iron rack, undercoating the ducket rivets that had some remedial work done on them we also filled the bunker for the first time with water to start the testing program before we complete the painting of 5164 bunker.
The crinoline team were hard at work making the bits all fit together on 4253 with lots of coming and going and taking things down and the doing the alterations and the reversing the process and re- fitting them on the loco ,making a new joining strip and the cutting the cladding sheets in situ to save the effort of taking them down from around the boiler just the drivers side to then all done hopefully .
With more measuring for the ashpan studs and sorting out fixing nuts we also ordered a set of new nuts we also found some studs and re tapped them ,we also received the glands for the main steam pipe that had been machined for us .
Sunday ,the team concentrated on work on 4253 main steam pipe covers now we have all the newly fabricated and machined bits to complete the building of them ,we also machined some of the original parts to fit the new design we also cut up joining lugs and drilled them ready for tapping .
More work on the brake ejector pipework was completed for 4253 also the tanks were started to be rubbed down getting ready for another coat of paint on them.
We did a few just jobs on the bunker of 5164 as well .
The other main focus of the day was working on the 36 ton steam crane getting it ready for its boiler inspection with the last large mud hole door removed and the washout process started as well ,the other big job to do was to get the stabilising legs to go in and out smoothly for ease of use , with lots of spraying of paraffin and oil over many of the moving parts, removal of all the trimmings for attention and lubrication added where it is needed .
Thanks to all who came along to help keep things moving on the projects.

03/05/2026

The week was another 3 days working on both projects 5164 & 4253 moving things forward .
The first job on 5164 was removing the ducket for cleaning off the paint ready for welding then the top beading paint was removed ,next was bolt the ducket onto the holding brackets then ream the holes for a good fit for the hot rivets ,check the position of the ducket tack it on weld to avoid any movement when the riveting takes place .
We completed the riveting process with no hiccups when it was all riveted in place , then we fully welded the ducket to the beading cleaned off the new rivets and primed just paint and test to complete the job , the team had worked marvels restoring the beading and ducket from the throw it away state we received both on the old bunker .
The 4253 team were hard at work walking back and forth to the shed with the elephants ears that have travelled many miles even before the loco goes into traffic , the end result of the walking ears was trimming , dressing and finally welding on the joining strip, off they went again to trial fit which was a complete success, also more boiler blanking plates were sorted out and gaskets made ready for fitting .
Friday , it was a 4253 day with lots of work continuing on the elephants ears with a change of the joining strip after deliberation it was decided it needed to be slightly wider so a new one was rolled up to replaced the prototype then it was welded on and the ear went for another trial fit .
While the ear was on the boiler it was drilled it was taken down and had nuts welded on for the holding bolts to keep everything in place then put back up bolts fitted, the push me pull me team got it where they wanted it to sit the holding band was slid into position then tightened up it fitted fine and a call of that will do was heard coming from on high .
While all this excitement was unfolding up top down in the pit was a very important job was going on with stud sizing for fitting the ash pan to the foundation ring , with dimension’s being taken for the holes to be marked and drilled in the new cast fire bar holding brackets we know what is need to complete the job .
Sunday , a small team today with 2 returning from holiday and lots going away on various jaunts, we got to work on 5164 bunker marking out the fire iron rack then removing the paint and welding them in place ,a drain valve was fitted to underside of the bunker water space for ease of draining when the water test has been completed we also removed some blemishes from the ducket rivets .
Others were working on 4253 with the smokebox plates around the main steam pipe were bolted on after the great bolt hunt was brought to a satisfactory conclusion we found them ,the gaskets were found and fitted to the manifold blanking plate and bolted on ,the regulator stuffing box was put away for safety as well .
We had an early day as we got done what needed doing so, we went home . Thanks to everyone who helped over the last week keeping everything moving forward .

26/04/2026

The week involved us working 3 days this week on 5164 & 4253 moving things forward .
Tuesday , we set off to rivet 5164 bunker top to the bottom sheet we had a slow start when we found we were short on room for holding the rivets for knocking down due to the space to get the tooling in place, so like a good workforce we scratched our heads then with a bit of improvisation made a bespoke holder to suit .
So, we started the job of riveting the bunker floor to the top starting at the base fireman’s side moving up and across then back down the driver’s side to the bottom ,when this was completed, the job started dressing the countersunk rivets flat so the bunker sits done on the frames for fixing down .
Next job of the day was to turn the bunker onto its base plate to give us access to the top allowing us to fit the ducket holding brackets and allow the team to put up the ducket and bolt into position for its final fixing , then all the new rivets were painted with primer then we packed up to resume later to complete the job of riveting the ducket on, then we can then test the water space with H2o.
While all this excitement was going on the crinoline team were working on the elephants ears welding the sheet that was slit to allow it to fit the shape of the firebox ,then they put up the drivers side marked it took it down and did the first trim put it back up and remarked it then take it down trim again then put it up again then slitting getting it to fit correctly around the firebox ,it’s a long and time consuming job to get them right but someone’s got to do it.
The other major job today was loading up the skip with our scrap and sorting it out the different metals so we get the best price possible ,the outside workshop looks a lot tidier now .
Friday, the team finished loading the scrap skip after sorting the metals for a better price and the skip was picked up and our funds are a few pence better off.
The proper work started with the rubbing down of the scuff marks on the bunker of 5164 and then giving the complete bunker another coat of undercoat the paint dried very quickly indeed due to the sun .
Work on 4253 was various which included getting the regulator box out of storage and cleaned all the pipe joining surfaces and bolt holes ,trimmed the bolt edges then moved the regulator to inside the shed and then hoisted it up on the running plate .
The elephants ears were trimmed and put up and fitted for the final checking before this happened it was case of put them up take them down put them up again so a full-on day before getting to this stage ,other jobs that got done the last 8 foundation ring stud holes were tapped out and removing the welding splatter that had gone inside the holes when it was repaired when the boiler was rebuilt .
Last job of the day removing the mud holes from the 36-ton breakdown crane’s boiler which proved testing to say the lease and a thank you must go to (John ) who’s flogging spanner did the job getting the last bridge nut off.
Sunday, the team set to work on the covers for 4253 main steam pipes getting them ready for the holding brackets to be fitted which involved finding a piece of 6-inch round steel to fit inside the pipes while the brackets are being welded on.
Work on the brake ejector fl**ge and pipework with it being milled to allow the pipe to fit as we want it this was done and the pipe trimmed then brazed onto the fl**ge .
Work on the boiler included removing the regulator unit from the back head and blanking all the other holes getting ready for the steam test we also removed the regulator rod to allow blanking the front end of the boiler in the smokebox, lots of checking took place in the firebox for stud sizes and how we will construct the holding brackets for the rocking grate mechanism ,then lots of drawings were consulted .
Thanks to all and sundry who came along to help us keep moving forward with the projects.

19/04/2026

This week all over the place 3 days and working on the projects and to 2 jolly’s as well .
Tuesday, work on both projects took place at a super slow pace 4253 had more work done on the elephants ears with putting them up, taking them down, cut them, then repeat we have had a call from Guinness who would like to include the up’s and downs in their new records book coming out soon as a new world record for cladding on a loco.
The smokebox fixing plates for the main steam pipes were cleaned ready for welding to the cover sections, the back head cladding sheets was taken outside and hung up to receive their first black undercoat on both sides some got done some didn’t the rest can be later don’t want to rush .
Work on 5164 included cleaning seams ready for the final weld, starting to paint the bunker coal space .
The first jolly of the week with Henry, Mike and myself visiting the one-to-one collection at Margate to meet the Crewe engineer’s Creagh and Ben to carry out an inspection of 4270 to carry out a schedule of condition before we receive the loco and with lots of encouraging noises coming from the 3 engineer’s as well, this inspection is beneficial for both parties so we are all singing from the same hymn sheet we can now move forward to the next phase .
Wednesday, the old bunker from 5164 was loaded on a trailer and taken to Chapmans as part of the clear up of Rolvenden field (still plenty of room for the Yank and the Ford)
Friday, second jolly of the week with the board of 4253 invited by the Rother Valley Railway to travel on the Hastings unit run from Robertsbridge to Tonbridge and return, to celebrate the opening of the new station building and the official opening of the main line link .
We would like to thank Helen and her team for all the hard work presenting a very well-run event and a very enjoyable day thanks from all the team at 4253 well done to all thanks again .
The rest of the team continued with work on 4253 and a material hunt in the long grass of the outside workshop along with getting more jobs completed .
Sunday. a very productive day with work on 5164 and 4253 with a smallish team first job complete the welding on the front plate of the 5164 bunker water tank ,next cutting the rivets ready for the rivet session coming very soon ,third job fit bigger bolts through the holding down holes leaving all the rivet holes free to gives us a good run riveting .
First job 4253 cutting the main steam pipe covers with the plasma cutter then dressing them to fit the smokebox holding plates, spend the next hour looking for the pipe covers joining strips whoever put them in hiding thanks,
then find more material cut it to length mark out and then drill just to give us something to do.
Next sort out the fl**ges for the brake ejector smokebox pipe cut pipe to length then braze on a stop end fill with sand plug second end heat to red and bend to shape .
Next job on the agender start removing the bolts from the back cladding sheeting around the boiler on the 36-ton breakdown then removal with the aid of the digger starting getting it ready for its boiler inspection and rope inspection as we will be lifting boilers soon .
So, a very interesting week with jolly’s and work as well so we pressing on and moving forward and we will do the same next week as well just for a change .

4253 Locomotive Company

14/06/2026

07/06/2026

31/05/2026

24/05/2026

17/05/2026

10/05/2026

03/05/2026

26/04/2026

19/04/2026

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