Homebound ‘emergency’ rescue for LNWR royal saloon
VINTAGE Trains has stepped in to help rescue LNWR semi-royal saloon No. 806 with its future looking uncertain, becoming involved once more in a vehicle it saved for preservation.
Built in 1903 to the same body style of the rest of the LNWR Royal Train, it is the only survivor of Wolverton-built senior special traffic saloons for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Train.
Comprised of one day and two smaller night saloons, the interior was originally fitted out in white naval-style mahogany, while corridors and vestibules used varnished mahogany.
No. 806 was withdrawn in 1973 and entered preservation with VT, then known as the Birmingham Railway Museum, shortly afterwards.
Restoration was aided by a community scheme that provided unemployed craftsmen with work experience so they could gain fulltime employment, a programme that resulted in more than 800 people being retrained and gaining new jobs in industry.
In 1988, Prince Charles, now King Charles III, visited Tyseley to celebrate the achievement and recommission No. 806, which had now been restored to original condition.
Unfortunately, British Rail withdrew the ability to run wooden-bodied vehicles on the main line, thus preventing VT’s ambition for the saloon, and it was sold to a private individual for use on the Bluebell Railway’s Golden Arrow dining trains.
It relocated to the Lavender Line in Isfield in 2014 after moving offsite for a filming job, before being sold again in 2015, after which it moved to the car park of an Indian restaurant in Polhill, Kent, as an events space.
That restaurant closed earlier this year and it became necessary to move the carriage again, the owner appealing to Vintage Trains for assistance.
Given its national importance and the company’s previous association with the vehicle, VT agreed to fund the move by road to Tyseley to secure its long-term future, for which plans are currently being formulated.
Though structurally sound, significant external bodywork repairs are required. Internally, it remains in superb condition – a testament to the 1980s restoration carried out. Though the owner has expressed an interest in transferring the vehicle to VT’s charitable trust at a fair price, funds are required to complete the purchase as it remains possible that it could be sold elsewhere.
A VT statement said: “It is possible that No. 806 could be restored for use at Tyseley Locomotive Works for display and private hire, and it may yet be possible for the saloon to run on the national network for special events and celebrations. It would be a superb vehicle to accompany the reproduction LNWR 2-2-2 single wheeler ‘Bloomer’ locomotive on exhibition nationally.”
Chairman Michael Whitehouse added: “This is just the first stage of an emergency rescue. What happens next depends on support and cash.”
➜ Anyone who is interested in or is able to assist the project is invited to contact VT by emailing enquiries@ vintagetrains.co.uk