Sustainably vintage!

Mike Heath provides a taste of his new book Railways & Recollections: The Stately Trains Collection. Illustrated by over 250 photographs, it profiles the collection's beautiful carriages and relates their incredible stories from construction to withdrawal and restoration.

Mike Heath provides a taste of his recently published book Railways & Recollections: The Stately Trains Collection. Illustrated by more than 250 photos, it profiles the collection’s beautiful carriages, exploring their incredible stories from construction through working life to withdrawal from service and subsequent rescue and restoration.

Based at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway in West Yorkshire, Stately Trains was born out of one man's passion for vintage carriages. Stephen Middleton was raised in a railway family. His father, mother and grandfathers all worked for railway companies from pre-grouping through to the British Railways. His father had a first class pass for rail travel, thus it is no surprise that Middleton junior experienced regular luxury travel on East Coast Pullmans between Yorkshire and London.

At the age of five, he longed to be a steward working on the Pullman cars. Fate took him in a different direction, but that yearning did not leave him and in 1992, after seeing an advertisement in a railway magazine, his enthusiasm for railway carriages was re-kindled.

Discovery

The advertisement drew his attention to an unrestored Great Eastern Railway carriage (No. 14) which coincidentally had been used as the district engineer's saloon at Ipswich where his grandfather was station master and his father started work on the railway. He made a successful bid and embarked on a restoration journey that was to create a collection of historically significant pre-1914 luxury carriages.

These further restorations have included a first class saloon built for the Great North of Scotland Railway in 1894 and three directors' saloons, one built for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1906, one for the London

& North Western Railway in 1913 and one for the Great Eastern Railway, which dates from 1911.

In addition to GER No. 14 referred to previously, a family saloon built for the GER in 1897 and believed to have been used by Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Alice, has also been acquired and brought back into use.

Fleet

That royal connection has been reinforced by what is considered to be the ‘jewel in the crown' of the collection in the form of a carriage that was constructed specifically for Queen Victoria's Royal Train in 1885 and later converted for her personal use during her Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1887.

Still under restoration are another GER family saloon dating from 1877 that was later to be converted for the use of Edward, Prince of Wales and a coach which, when completed, will be the oldest operational Pullman carriage in the world.

In the midst of gathering this stock together, Stephen and his team have also restored an 0-6-0 saddle tank locomotive – Illingworth – built in 1916, which has during its long career, helped the war effort in both the first and second world wars.

As a ‘sideline' Stephen purchased the grounded body of the North Eastern Railway 1903 built Autocar' No. 3170 and set up a charitable trust. With volunteers and help from funding bodies and railway companies, the trust restored it and the accompanying auto coach to operational condition. This is a true pioneer, being the first railcar in the world to use internal combustion to drive a generator, which in turn powered electric traction motors.

The team's superb restoration of Autocar No. 3170 earned it the Rail Expresssponsored Modern Traction Award, plus the Manisty Award – one of the heritage rail industry's most prestigious awards – which acknowledges an outstanding contribution to railway preservation at the Heritage Railway Association's 2019 awards.

The quality of these restorations is clear to see for those lucky enough to travel in them, but what is not at all obvious is the state of each carriage when Stephen took ownership.

For example, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's directors' saloon was being used as a diesel parts store on a heritage line, while the GER saloon had spent 10 years open to the elements minus its roof and side cladding. The beautiful Victorian coach had been the marital home of one couple for over 55 years, while the Pullman carriage was one of two around which a timber framed bungalow was constructed in 1920 and then stood for over 60 years.

Each piece in the collection has thus had a fascinating history from its construction through its working life and on into preservation. Along the way Stephen has collected many photographs and much information/memorabilia to complete their stories and these have formed the basis for the book.

Operations

The carriages, which have at times visited other railways and featured in many television, film and theatre productions, are in the main based at Embsay and Covid-19 restrictions permitting, are due to see regular service with Vintage Trains days and Cream

Tea specials featuring in the line's 2021 events programme. Prospective visitors should check the railway's website www. embsayboltonabbeyrailway.org.uk for updates, details and ticket availability.

MIKE HEATH Ninteenth century splendour on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway with the Furness Railway Trust's 0-4-0 No. 20, which dates from 1863 hauling GER carriages Nos. 14 and 37. The train is approaching Newbridge on its way from Pickering to Levisham in October 2000.

STEPHEN MIDDLETON Within 12 months of Stephen purchasing GER coach No. 37 in 1998, around £15,000 had been spent on a sound but speedy restoration outdoors in the corner of a Harrogate stable's car park. Most of the money went on hiring specialist contractors to replace 70% of the rotten frame. Certainly, this carriage would have been considered beyond economic ‘traditional restoration' but Stephen's realistic approach means that it is now in a condition that will guarantee many years' use.

STEPHEN MIDDLETON / KEN LEIGHTON GER No. 14 in the ‘Home Siding' at Ipswich by the tunnel mouth. This would have been a familiar sight to Stephen's father and grandparents during their working career.

MIKE HEATH A former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway locomotive to visit the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway was the ‘A' C lass/Class 27 No. 1300 (LMS No.12322, BR No.52322). The opportunity to pair the L&Y coach and locomotive was not to be missed with the two separated by Stephen's three six wheelers in this image of a vintage train pulling away from Holywell Halt on May 5, 2014.

STEPHEN MIDDLETON GER No. 63 had the honour of representing Stately Trains in Canada as part of The Railway Children theatre production, which had been shipped across Atlantic. A purpose-built theatre with 1000 seats was constructed in Toronto's Roundhouse Park beneath the CN Tower and next to the Rogers Centre which stands on the former railway lands. The ‘Roundhouse' is a preserved locomotive roundhouse which is home to the Toronto Railway Museum. Between performances LSWR T3 4-4-0 locomotive No. 563 (now under overhaul at the Flour Mill for the Swanage Railway) and the GER carriage were posed on the large turntable.

MIKE HEATH On September 12, 2020, having been withdrawn from service in 2019, the superbly refurbished LNWR director's saloon No. 5318 emerged from the works in 2020 to take its place on the post-lockdown trains. Delicious afternoon teas were served on selected services.

MIKE HEATH Stephen and his wife Qiuying are pictured in the opulent saloon of Queen Victoria's carriage, an experience they invite you to share during a visit to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.

MIKE HEATH The restored interior of GER No. 37.