By Megan Jones

Copyright expressandstar

The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) has added a fully accessible buffet car and saloon into its fleet of coaches after an eight-year restoration project.

The coach, built in 1928, spent its first 30 years as a run-of-the-mill third-class compartment coach, before being converted into a mess coach and workshop.

In 1981 it was bought by the SVR-based 2587 Society and used as a base for the restoration of its locomotive.

After the project was completed the coach became the foundation of the ambitious SVR scheme to create a wheelchair-accessible saloon and buffet car – with the hope that SVR proves an inspiration to other coach restorers across the heritage sector.

Work, which included building new bodysides due to extensive rot, began in 2017 at Bewdley.

During the project, the coaches’ historic original features were combined with modern adaptations, including the Great Western Railway (GWR) art deco-styled bar, which features new a low-level section for wheelchair access, and a fully accessible toilet with outward-opening doors.

The restoration was led by the SVR’s LNER Carriage Group, with volunteer Richard Gunning at the helm.