The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway has announced that its ex-Sierra Leone Government Railways carriage No.1066 has returned to the railway after being completely refurbished.

The refurbishment was carried out by Statfold Engineering Ltd. at Tamworth in Staffordshire, and included changing the configuration of the original bench seating into upholstered seating bays and tables, which has increased the level of comfort for passengers.

A former toilet and guard’s compartment has been converted into a small servery complete with storage and refrigerator to support the range of on-train catering activities the railway can offer to passengers.

To make the carriage suitable for year-round operations, it has now been fitted with steam heating and LED lighting.

The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway is looking forward to bringing the carriage back into service, and welcoming passengers onto it next year. Services fo 2024 will be announced in the 2024 timetable that is being released in January.

Carriage No.1066 was built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in March 1962. It Travelled by rail from the company’s works in Gloucester, but because of the carriage’s narrow gauge, it had to be transported from the works on a wagon.
Photographs by J Gunby & Statfold Engineering Ltd.