Rail Buffs In Plea For Aid (1 Viewer)

SF Admin

Administrator
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Messages
7,158
Reaction score
3
Dedicated railway enthusiasts are appealing for help so they can continue with their work to get a railway coach back on track.

Volunteers at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway have been working for five years to restore a 1907 wood-bodied top light railway coach.

They have spent hours working on the body, but they are appealing for a kind-hearted person to donate wrap-around scaffolding so they can restore the roof.

Norman Whitworth, one of the coach builders, said they want to get the coach back on the tracks and in public use, but they can’t do it without help.

“We have done virtually as much as we can on the body and now we need to take the roof off and replace it,” he said.

“We were originally going to start last Christmas but then health and safety representatives advised us we had to have a wrap around scaffolding.

“We’ve been using mobile towers but he said because of the lengths of the timbers and weight of the canvas we needed the scaffolding.”

Norman said they had been quoted £5,000 for the scaffolding but that would use all the money they had to finish the restoration of the 18.5m by 2.5m coach.

The four-man team, who usually spend a few hours a week restoring railway coaches, need to replace the entire wooden roof and canvas.

“It’s no good glossing over it because you’re only building up problems for later and because it’s going to carry passengers it has to be just right. We can’t take short-cuts.”

“It’s got to the stage where if we don’t do the roof, anything else we do will probably get damaged when we do the roof.

“Once we get the roof on it will be full steam ahead.”

Swindon and Cricklade Railway was in the Adver last month when vandals caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

The engine shed was broken into, personal cabinets trashed and the buffet cart at Hayes Knoll was ransacked, with tools and equipment thrown around the area.

Norman said: “The stuff we need has been repaired but some stuff will just be left because we have to carry on with other jobs.

“It will all be put right in time. It’s not so much financial damage, it’s hours. Because we’re all volunteers, it’s all the man hours which are more important to us than money.”

To donate scaffolding to the team contact Nick Bailey on 01793 340269.

Source: Swindon Advertiser
 
Top Bottom