Old railway carriage to begin new life at station

Volunteers are moving a 149-year-old railway carriage from a back garden to a train station.

The dismantled Victorian carriage is making a 20-mile (32km) trip in a lorry on Saturday from a house in Needingworth, Cambridgeshire.

It will be rebuilt on a disused platform at March railway station and eventually converted into a tea room.

Rob Abel, chairman of Friends of March Railway Station, the community group behind the project, said it would be "all hands on deck" to get the carriage moved.

"There might be a few bad backs after the weekend but it'll be worth it," said Mr Abel, whose grandfather and uncles both worked as train drivers at March.

"We can finally get the carriage brought across to March and restore it to its former glory."

A local haulage company has provided a lorry and the Fenland Association for Community Transport (FACT), based in March, is putting on a bus service to transport the volunteers.

The 34ft-long (10-metre) carriage was donated by Nicky Cope, who said she was looking forward to getting her garden back.

"It will be nice to rescue my lawn again," she said.

The carriage dates back to 1875 and members of Friends of March Railway Station believe it would have called at the town while in service.

Members of the Make and Mend Shed, a community project based at FACT, are taking on the challenge of reassembling the carriage, which was originally a third-class car on the Great Eastern Railway.

It will be painted in its original burgundy red and opened to members of the public as a tea room, a project that is expected to take at least 18 months.

Ms Cope, who has been invited to cut the ribbon at the grand opening, said she was looking forward to "visiting for a cup of tea".

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