A "ROYAL" visitor will be arriving at Kidderminster's Severn Valley Railway station this weekend.

The Great Western Railway King class locomotive, No 6024 King Edward I, will make a rare visit to the SVR, on timetabled trains.

Members of the 6024 Preservation Society, which owns the locomotive, have chosen the SVR for its annual Club 6024 outing and barbecue, making the engine available.

John Leach, marketing manager of the SVR, said: "In the old days, stopping passenger trains were hauled by all manner of locomotive types but never by Kings.

"They were a class of 30 very exclusive engines allotted to only the top expresses of their day so to have a King on an all stations stopper could well be a first."