THE WORLD’S first preserved railway is looking to raise £200,000 to restore their carriages to their former glory and make them more wheelchair accessible.

Shortly after the Talyllyn Railway was preserved in 1951, there was a need for extra passenger accommodation, which was met by building open carriages.

These were a quick and cost-effective means to carry the increasing numbers of passengers flocking to sample the charming railway.

In the 1960s the four open carriages had roofs fitted, creating the form that has become familiar in the 50 years since and making them a firm favourite with passengers young and old.

But now after many years, they are in need of restoration, one having already been withdrawn from service, and need rebuilding.

The rebuilt coaches will have a fully refurbished chassis complete with new wheels, axles and roller bearing axleboxes.

On top of which will be added completely new bodies, built in keeping with the traditional appearance of the trains, but with an improved design and materials to reduce the level of maintenance required to keep them in traffic.

There will be one significant design change from the old carriages as described by chairman of the board, David Ventry: “Our open carriages have now been in service for over half a century and are very much enjoyed by our passengers in all weathers.

“They have served us well but are becoming increasingly difficult and time consuming to maintain.

“Replacing them gives us the golden opportunity to redesign the open carriages to provide access for all by making each carriage wheelchair accessible so that they can be enjoyed by all our passengers.”

The expected cost of this work is in the region of £50,000 per carriage and so the Open Carriages Appeal was launched at the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society’s recent AGM with a target of £200,000.

A special collection taken at the meeting raised over £1,100 to start the fund going.

The intention is to have the first carriage in service in 2018 with the rest following at a rate of one per year.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so on-line at www.talyllyn.co.uk/opencarriagesappealSee this week's north editions for the full story, in shops and online on Thursday