Swanage Railway Restoration Projects

Information on this page will be expanded to include information on restoration projects on the Swanage Railway.

You will find information on key restoration projects, including our latest projects:

Project: The return to service of our adapted carriage for mobility impaired visitors

The Swanage Railway Company (the wholly owned trading subsidiary of the Swanage Railway Trust) already owns a railway coach that was adapted some 20 years ago for the carriage of mobility impaired passengers.

The adapted coach provides a mix of regular passenger seating in compartments and an open area for the carriage of wheelchairs, and has the benefit of a centrally positioned toilet allowing wheelchair access.

Unfortunately, this adapted coach has been out of service for some years as insufficient funds have been available for its overhaul.

During this time the coach has been badly vandalised and has further deteriorated.

The Trust and the Company are now determined that the facilities for mobility impaired visitors should be improved without delay and the Trust is currently raising money for the general improvement of facilities for the mobility impaired.

The overhaul of the adapted coach represents the single biggest project at the present time, and the total cost of the overhaul is likely to reach around £45,000, this being made up of the mechanical overhaul, plus refurbishment of the interior and transport.

Donations to the projects on this page can be made on the Swanage Railway Trust's donations website by following this link

Project: The Churchill Van Museum

Steve Doughty, project leader, has advised that the HLF has declined to support the Trust's £50,000 bid to restore the Churchill funeral van and use this to house a museum focussing on the role of railways in the Second World War.

The Trust was surprised by this decision, given the detailed submission made and what it felt was a comprehensive but modest plan to tell a story of national and international importance in the context of this historic artefact that is assciated with the man regarded by many as the greatest Briton of all time and who, of course, led this country at this critical point in its history.

The Trust is now seeking alternative funding for the project. Offers of support and further details of the project are available from me at the Swanage Railway address.

In the event that sufficient funds are not forthcoming to complete the museum project, such funds as are available will be used to conserve the car, which will then be made available for general use on the Swanage Railway.

The next stage will very much depend on how much can be raised by our supporters.

Donations to the projects on this page can be made on the Swanage Railway Trust's donations website by following this link