Victorian railway carriage is on track to become a tea room thanks to dedication of Friends of March Railway Station and their team of helpers

A community group is celebrating after putting the wheels in motion for a new attraction at a Fenland railway station.

The Friends of March Railway Station, together with members of the ‘Make and Mend’ March Men’s Shed alongside members of the Women’s Shed, put hours of work into moving a Victorian railway carriage from Needingworth to March.

The dedicated team put ‘blood, sweat, and hard work’ into dismantling the carriage, which dates back to 1884 and was being used as a shed by its previous owner.

Local haulage company G and CA Lombardo Ltd, of Burrowmoor Road, March, provided a lorry driven by trucker Tim Carter, to transport the wooden vehicle once it had been carefully dismantled by the Friends and their team of expert helpers.

It took hours of work over months to dismantle the carriage and FACT (Fenland Association for Community Transport), helped by providing transport for the volunteers to and from Needingworth until the job was completed.

Rob Abel, chairperson of the Friends, explained: “It all began back in January when our secretary, Mandy Ward, saw a post of Facebook with somebody offering a railway carriage free to a good home.

“Me, Mandy, and our vice-chair, Gary Christy, arranged to go and have a look at it in the first week of January, and it has escalated from there. All the owner wanted was for us to dismantle and remove from her garden. It has taken a lot of time, but we have finally managed to get it to pieces and thanks to Shaun and Helen Lombardo we have had it transported to March.

“It is now lying on the disused platform one waiting to be reassembled, although we do need to still collect the metal frame ready for that to happen.”

He said the ambition is to have the carriage, which once belonged to the GER (Great Eastern Railway) and would have rolled through March back in the day, up and ready to serve cuppas this time next year. It will be repainted in its original GER colours.

For Rob, whose grandfather was a train driver, it has been a personal ambition, and he has been immensely grateful to the dedication of the volunteers who have put so much time and care into safely dismantling it.

The aim is to have the carriage fitted as a tea room that can open when the Friends hold their regular open days, heritage, and other events through the year.

The group has two heritage coming up next month on September 7 and 14 when visitors will be able to see the carriage in its current dismantled state.

Rob added: “Hopefully they will be able to come back next year, and enjoy a cup of tea with us in our tea room.”

The previous owner of the carriage will be invited to officially cut the ribbon to open the tea room when it is ready and Trucker Tim will be among the first to be served a cuppa.

The group has launched a Justgiving page with a target of £3,000 to help pay for the renovations and it can be found by searching Friends of March Railway Station.