* Peter Snow presents the programme from Llangollen Railway to be screened this Wednesday.
The world famous heritage line will feature in this
Wednesday evening’s edition of the programme Great Railway Restorations presented by television personality
Peter Snow.
He visited Llangollen to highlight the restoration
of a vintage railway carriage at the railway's Pentrefelin Carriage and Wagon Works.
The teak-bodied carriage, built in 1912 by the
Great Northern Railway, was used on East Coast Mainline express services for
over 40 years before being relegated to departmental duties by British Rail in
1977.
The programme follows the restoration project
through all the stages of a major refurbishment by members of the
Llangollen Railway workforce led by chairman Peter Lund.
In the course of the programme, a number of
challenges have to be overcome to turn a near wreck into a coach which now
features an open saloon and three second-class compartments in the livery
of the former London North Eastern Railway.
Llangollen Railway’s business manager Liz
McGuinness said: "The programme will make fascinating viewing
for rail fans as the spotlight is placed on the Llangollen Railway and part one
will be screened on Wednesday at 8pm.”
Railway chairman Peter Lund said: “The announcement
by Channel 4 of the broadcast of Great Railway Restorations is the culmination
of the enormous efforts devoted to this project by the employees and volunteers
of the Carriage & Wagon Department of Llangollen Railway.
“The six months allotted to the completion of this
project meant that there were many late nights involved to get the job
finished. It is such a shame that current safety regulations deprive the public
of an opportunity to ride in this historic carriage.”
In the series
life-long train enthusiast Peter Snow will celebrate the great history of
Britain and its railways, through the restoration of four of the most iconic
railway carriages ever built.
Each carriage
highlighted comes from a different era of train travel, and each will be
restored to its former glory with complete historical accuracy.
Peter is joined by
Henry Cole, who will explore the passenger experience of the era with
historical items from the past to fully appreciate the provenance of each
railway carriage.
Each of the episodes
will see a carriage restored by a team of world-class railway restoration
specialists. Starting in each case with a derelict and neglected shell, the
programmes will follow the journey to bring these historical treasures back to
life, in an intricate make-over of four forgotten pieces of our national
heritage. The carriages cover 100 years of railway history starting in 1860,
and include a Royal Saloon used by Queen Victoria.
At the end of each
episode, the full glory of the carriage make-over will be revealed. The
carriage will then be put back on the rails, pulled by a locomotive from the
era. In the final episode, all four carriages will be brought together creating
an entirely bespoke ‘train through time’ pulled by a steam locomotive – driven
by Peter Snow himself, fulfilling a boyhood dream to drive a steam engine.
