A 19th century railway carriage, which spent years of its life as part of a bungalow, has won its class in a competition for restored heritage vehicles.
Earlier this year, the Eastbourne Historic Vehicle Club invited Kent & East Sussex Railways (K&ESR) to put forward an entry into its annual competition for restored heritage items.
Following a visit to assess the coach, the club has announced that its South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SE&CR) coach No. 3062 has won its class in the 2012 awards.
The carriage, No. 108 of the London Chatham & Dover Railway, went into service in May 1888 and was originally a four-wheel second class brake vehicle before being downgraded to third.
Following the Chatham’s working union with the South Eastern Railway in 1898 it was renumbered 3062 and equipped with electric lights in January 1901 .
The coach was finally withdrawn in March 1921 and, together with three other coach bodies, sold for use as a bungalow in Ashford, Kent – like so many coach bodies at the time.
The bungalow was demolished in 1986 and, together with four-compartment coach body No. 2947, No. 3062 was recovered and brought to Tenterden.
Both coach bodies were well-preserved and retained their original doors and SE&CR livery.
No. 2947 was restored and returned to service in 1995 and restoration of No. 3062 commenced in the spring of 2006, with most of the funding coming from the K&ESR’s Ashford Area Group.
Carriage and wagon department volunteers, led by K&ESR trustee Ken Lee, carried out the restoration work.
To get the No. 3062 mobile again, the body was mounted on a cut down Southern Railway PMV underframe.
The carriage eventually re-entered service on Friday, November 11, 2011, and had its first passenger trip as part of last year’s Armistice Day event.
