EFFORTS to restore a 1930s railway coach are moving full steam ahead thanks to an £11,000 grant.

Volunteers at the Stainmore Railway Company, based at Kirkby Stephen East station, said they were ‘delighted’ to receive confirmation of the £11,207 cash injection from the North of England Civic Trust.

The money will help fund a trainee for three months to assist contractor Stephen Ball in the manufacture of 26 bucket seat units for the coach – in the same style used on the vehicle when it was built in 1936.

Work will start in September and all the seats will be completed and installed by the end of the year.

The coach was built by the London and North Eastern Railway at York and, after withdrawal from passenger service, was stripped and used for carrying tools and equipment for railway maintenance.

Since its purchase in 2002, it has undergone extensive refurbishment at Kirkby Stephen, including repair and varnishing of the teakbody panels, replacing the roof and refitting the interior.

Completing the last leg of the refurbishment is set to cost a further £25,000, which will cover the finishing touches on luggage racks, tables and doors, and completing the electrics.

The spokesman added: “Donations of any value towards the final stages of this vehicle’s return to its original splendour will be gratefully received.”

Once completed, the coach will be used on regular public passenger services on the railway. Find out more from suelizjones @hotmail.com