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Info added, to return soon to Germany (Wansford MPD - Home of the NVR Engineering Dept. Facebook, 6.3.22)
By autumn of 1975 305 had been successfully steamed on 4 occasions but with moves confined to Bridgnorth yard.<ref>SVR News 37</ref> The locomotive subsequently recorded 5 miles of travel, believed to have been a return trip from [[Bridgnorth]] to [[Eardington]], of which three photographs are shown below. It transpired that the measurements of the locomotive that had been provided prior to purchase were incorrect, and also that the Severn Valley Railway had not been built to standard GWR gauge as had been assumed Significant modifications to track alignment and platform clearances would have been necessary throughout the line, or major changes would have been required to the locomotive’s profile, notably cutting back the tank and cab sides and lowering the cab roof. A kinematic envelope of the locomotive’s profile against all structures down the line would then have to be produced before DoE permission could be obtained for the locomotive to enter service. The Fund’s shareholders therefore decided to sell the locomotive, so in 1977 the locomotive found a new home on the Nene Valley Railway which had been modified to cope with locomotives built to continental loading gauge.<ref>SVR News 45</ref>
Restoration of the locomotive was subsequently completed at the Nene Valley, after which it saw regular service on the line and featured in several films. It was taken out of traffic in 1987, following which its air pump was used by Flying Scotsman during that locomotive’s tour of Australia in 1989-90. 305 is now was then stored at Wansford awaiting overhaul.<ref>[https://davesrailphots.weebly.com/64-305.html David Harrison]</ref>In March 2023 the Nene Valley extracted the locomotive from the back of the shed as it was shortly to leave the railway, to return to Germany under new ownership for overhaul and a return to steam.
==Gallery==
