Volunteers at the Bramley Line Heritage Railway Line Trust received a flurry of donations to help with the restoration of a 19th century railway carriage which operated on the old Lynn to March line.
The 136-year-old Brake Third coach, which was discovered in a garden in March last year, started work in 1876 at Liverpool Street before transfering to March to work on the March to Lynn route.
Most coaches of this model were retired in 1903, but it is believed that two coaches were adapted for use on the tramway and that Coach 20 was used as a relief coach until the end of 1927.
The coach appeared in the Lynn News in January when members of the Trust were looking for help to raise the money needed to move the coach to Wisbech, where it could be restored.
David Bunting, from the Trust, said: “Thanks to a couple of significantly generous donations, plus several others, we just about have the funds for collecting and transporting the carriage.
“Coverage in the local press has been a great help, and a number of people have contacted us about assisting with the restoration. We are currently considering security prior to arranging the movement, hopefully in the next couple of months.”
A total of 75 Brake Third coaches were built and only this coach and one other, in Suffolk, remain in preservation.
When restoration is complete, it is hoped that the coach will be a major new exhibit at the new heritage railway centre being developed at Waldersea, near Wisbech.
And, eventually, volunteers hope to restore it to full working order so it can again carry passengers as it once did.
Mr Bunting said: “We have recently been told that there is an underframe available at a Buckinghamshire Heritage Rail Centre for £1,500 which would fit the coach and enable it to be put back on the rails.
“We will be following this up and if this is the case to see if we can put a deposit on it.”
He added: “We still welcome volunteers with the restoration work and the building of the heritage rail centre at Waldersea.
“Anyone interested can contact us by e-mail at office@bramleyline.org or phone 07591 769180.”
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