We already have Furness Railway Number 20 - the oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive in Britain. Now we're putting a suitable train behind it!
Our
most recent acquisition is also the most illustrious we are ever likely to
achieve; the Trust is now the proud owner of a coach built specially for the
then future Queen of England!
We have completed the purchase of Princess Alexandria's Royal Saloon, with the intention of restoring it to its former glories. The coach comes complete with toilet, Guard's and even pantry facilities: it's an entire train in a single vehicle. Because of this it has possibilities for use on its own for exclusive parties or private hires, as well as being the flagship carriage in our Vintage Train.
Just imagine - in a few year's time, you could be riding in a former part of the Royal Train! But first we need to restore it!
We
have already achieved the first step in our goal with the restoration of an
historically-unique carriage body that saw service in what is now Cumbria.
The North London Railway Second Class carriage
has been been restored under contract thanks to the
Heritage Lottery fund and other backers. It's shown here on the left,
back at Haverthwaite after completion. By way of contrast, the picture on
the right shows it as it was as a chassis-less body before restoration. You
can also read a detailed report on how the team at the Appleby Heritage Centre,
supported by Furness Railway Trust volunteers, went about the restoration
process.
And,
with perfect timing, in the same week that the first vehicle was completed,
the Trust acquired the second vehicle for this Vintage Train! A sister vehicle
to our first carriage, the Furness Railway Trust has been donated a former
North London Railway "birdcage" Guards
and Luggage van which had been at the bottom of a West Midlands garden
for eight decades! (A "birdcage" brake van like this one has a raised
portion where the Guard can observe the signals over the roof of the rest
of the train.) A massive crane was needed to lift the wooden body out of the
private garden, and onto a waiting lorry for the journey to Cumbria. If this
wasn't difficult enough, there was a tree in the way, and the body had to
be lifted over part of the PC World Shirley superstore that bordered the garden
fence! It is now awaiting restoration.
A
third North London Railway carriage body is coming into our possession, and
it is another variant on the same design. This time it's the top of the tree,
First Class design. It is the same length
as our Second Class carriage, but was divided into four, not five, compartments,
to allow more legroom and luxury for those passengers prepared to pay the
premium fare. To add to the historical interest, this vehicle was converted
during the First World War to be an Ambulance Coach, and still carries the
modified doors to one of the central compartments. These can be used to give
full disabled access once the coach is restored. It is hoped that this vehicle
will be moved north to Cumbria early in 2007 for storage pending restoration.
These three NLR vehicles together will form a fascinating short train, able to accommodate between 80 and 100 passengers including a sizeable number of wheelchair users. The precise number depends on the seating arrangements in the First Class carriage and any seating in the Birdcage Brake. But these will be augmented by the Royal coach to provide further premium accommodation. Alternatively, the Royal Coach will be able to be used on its own.
It is the Trust's ambition to assemble a full train of Victorian passenger stock on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, to use with Furness Railway Number 20. We are now well on our way towards achieving this: the four vehicles already secured now need to be restored, so there is much work still to do. And we're still on the look out for more vehicles.
Away from the passenger stock, trust members already own a London and North Western Railway "Elephant Van". (The name always causes an eyebrow to be raised! Officially, it is actually a L&NWR "Covered Combination Truck", used to carry anything from parcels, to early motor cars or even circus animals - hence the name!) This vehicle is complete but would need restoration if it was to be used in the Vintage Train.
Looking further into the future, there are a number of grounded carriage bodies still in existence that hail from the Furness Railway and other Victorian railways, which now find use as chicken sheds and the like. It is possible that one or more of these could be returned to working order.
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