Robert the Engine gets London 2012 facelift

The steam-locomotive is getting repainted after years of pigeons, rain and wind have left him feeling under the weather. Robert is getting a new crimson coat at the Railway Museum in Colchester, Essex, before being returned to Stratford once improvements works there are complete.

Hugh Sumner, the ODA's Director of Transport, said: ‘Stratford Regional Station is being transformed into a facility which can serve London before, during and after the Games. The ODA has invested over £125 million in the station to treble capacity and upgrade infrastructure.

‘Robert has been a feature outside Stratford station for more than a decade. We hope that by renovating him, visitors and residents alike can enjoy this historic engine for years to come.’

The 38-tonne saddle tank locomotive was built by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol to work the Lamport Ironstone mines railway near Brixworth, Northamptonshire.

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