THE FURNESS RAILWAY TRUST

The latest vehicle in the FRT's growing vintage train has been delivered into the Trust's formal possession.

This is another North London Railway carriage, that complements the other vehicles in the Trust's collection.

It is seen here in the top photograph just after arrival at the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston on the last day of 2010, where it has been temporarily placed on what will be the donor chassis for this vehicle, a former British Railways horsebox.

The FRT had started out on its vintage train project restoring the NLR Second Class carriage, a vehicle that had ended its life on Furness Railway metals. That project led to the related NLR Birdcage Brakevan coming into our possession. The third NLR vehicle to be offered to the Trust was this, the NLR First Class variant.

Of course, since this donation, the FRT has taken delivery of a fourth NLR carriage, a second example of the second-class variant.

This First Class body had lain awaiting restoration at the Dean Forest Railway in Gloucestershire, and its owners kindly agreed to donate it to the Trust for restoration given our reputation and expertise, and given the general feeling in the heritage railway movement of the desirability of creating a complete train of these historic vehicles.

For some years after the donation was agreed, the body remained in the Dean Forest, but it was moved first to a haulage contractor's site nearby, and then in December 2010 made the journey north to the Ribble Steam Railway.

The First class vehicle will sit perfectly alongside the already restored Second class carriage and its unrestored sister: it is the same length, but has four instead of five compartments - giving more leg room for the Victorian passengers prepared to pay the premium fare. (Like the Royal Coach which is also in the Trust's collection, this one has the potential to be used by modern day First Class fare-paying passengers.) Complementing this ensemble will be the the slightly shorter but otherwise matching brakevan.

But this coach has had a fascinating story of its own which the Trust is keen to tell. One of the four compartments has been modified, with the window alongside the door replaced with a second outward-opening door. This can be seen in the photograph at the top of the page. Look at fourth window along from the right hand end: this should be a normal panel with the window above but is in fact another door. This modification was done during the First World War to allow the vehicle to be used in Ambulance Trains, bringing the wounded back from the Front. It is our intention to retain this feature: it adds to the interest of the vehicle, and also provides the perfect opportunity for it to be used by passengers in wheelchairs.

It is many years since this carriage last sat on its own underframe, so a donor vehicle was required that would provide a new set of wheels! The donor in this case is a former British Railways horsebox, that later saw service as a steam heating van on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in Yorkshire.

After coming into FRT ownership it was placed in storage with space sponsored by the GlaxoSmithKline drugs manufacturing site in Ulverston. In October 2010 it was moved to Preston, where the scrap body was removed leaving a chassis ready to take the NLR First class body. Initially the body has simply been rested on the chassis pending a return to full working order.

The lower photographs on this page show the work to demolish the superstructure of the former horse box, which was in any case in scrap condition. A gang met twice a week for the remainder of 2010 slowly and safely cutting away the roof and body panels, and separating them for scrap. The steam heating equipment that was still inside the vehicle has been sold to the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway for future reuse.

This is not the only surviving North London Railway First Class carriage of this design in existence: another, in full working order, can be found at the Isle of Wight Railway. That vehicle, which has been restored to an exceedingly high standard, became something of an inspiration for the Trust for what could be achieved, after FRT Committee members visited the Isle of Wight during the early stages of the restoration of our Second Class carriage. Some patterns were also taken at that time.

Because this is not the only survivor, independent surveyors do not place such high significance on this NLR First Class carriage body, saying it is of "some importance". However, it is the only one modified for war service that is still extant, and as such is considered by the FRT to be a perfect addition to our vintage train.