Great Western rail cart left in garage for 50 years

A horse-drawn rail cart left in a lock-up for 50 years is set to go back into service at Llangollen Railway.

The dray, built in the 1920s, was found when its Wiltshire owner died and then acquired by heritage railway buffs.

It had been kept in storage after being bought from Great Western Railway's Swindon works in the 1960s.

The dray carried parcels and other goods between communities and the station it served before motorised travel became common.

Llangollen Railway's Heritage Group said the dray was one of only four known to have survived.

Volunteers raised £3,400 in about week to cover the cost of buying and transporting the dray to Llangollen.

It requires some restoration and the group is looking for expert help before using it at its stations in Denbighshire.

A Llangollen Railway spokesman said "very little" was known about the working life of the dray.

He said it was classified by GWR as a "trolley" because there was no permanent seating for the dray worker who was expected to sit on the load it was carrying.

It was found in a garage in Royal Wootton Bassett, following the death of its former owner who acquired it directly from GWR.