Our "Peoples Millions" project -
to provide a fully accessible carriage and station platform.
Completed on time & on budget!
Many thanks to all who voted for us in ITVs "Peoples Millions" on Tues 25th Nov 2014.
With your help we won the vote (and the money!). Work on the chassis was completed by A J Engineering in Lincoln, whilst the bogies were restored by the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley.
The class D wagon chassis being lifted by crane (very kindly supplied by Skegness Water Leisure Park) from the railway yard to begin its journey to A J Engineering at Lincoln. 26th Jan 2015.
The wagon bogies were lifted at the same time. They are to be restored at Midland Railway Centre in Butterley.
The bogie frames after sand blasting at Butterley in February 2015.
The two Class D bogies arrived back at the LCLR following restoration at Butterley on 8th July 2015.
Springs have been renewed, bogies shot blasted, platework renewed and then painted.
New components for air braking are now concealed within the bogie.
More Photographs of the conversion of the "PMs" coach
Click HERE for more on the story of our successful conversion of the WW1 Class D wagon into an open carriage accessible to all!
The Background to the "Peoples Millions" project.
The LCLRHV Trust was successful in reaching the shortlist of the ‘Peoples Millions’ projects selected for the ITV Yorkshire South region, and was featured on ITV Yorkshire on 25/11/14. Furthermore it won the public vote on the day and was awarded £43,400 of funding for its project.
The People’s Millions is a partnership between ITV and the Big Lottery Fund where the public help decide which local community projects receive up to £50,000 of National Lottery Funding.
Our Project:
The project of the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway Historic Vehicles Trust ( LCLRHVT).
For over fifty years a small band of enthusiasts have cared for the collection of ex War Dept Light Railway vehicles.
Our project is to return to use an unrestored Class D chassis into a carriage specifically adapted for wheel chair users to be able to get on board and enjoy the travel experience. This will also help families with prams and push chairs to ride on the train. The work will be designed and supervised by members of the LCLRHVT, some done by specialist local contractors. Once operational, the coach will be used on trains manned by local voluntary members of the LCLRHVT.
We will spend the money restoring the carriage, originally built to carry troops and supplies during WW1 in France, which then came to be used on the Nocton Estates Railway near Lincoln and was saved by the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway when that system closed.
The vehicle was used as the chassis for the open coach, nicknamed "the tub", used from 1960 -1985 at Humberston near Cleethorpes, but in 2014 it was in a very poor state. It was complete but requires some major rebuilding along with the re-fitting of air brakes to make it suitable for passenger use.
It is therefore ideal to be able to incorporate access for wheelchair users during the rebuild work. In addition to seating for passengers, there will be an especially dedicated space for wheelchair users. When not being used for this purpose it will be an ideal area for push chairs or for children to stand safely to view the railway.
We will also need to modify our platform area to make using an access ramp straightforward and safe for everyone.
Location.
The vehicle will run at the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway (LCLR), at its new home, the Skegness Water Leisure Park, and the platform at Lakeview will be suitably adapted for wheelchair access.
We intend to use local contractors to rebuild the chassis into a passenger carrying carriage, although it will look like an authentic WDLR vehicle, with the addition of a removable safety rail. Once the platform and access is modified we will have full disabled access for all users of the railway.
We expect the work to take 6 - 8 months to complete, during 2015.
The carriage should then be good for another fifty years service on the LCLR.
The unrestored frames of the project vehicle
Proof of its wartime use - bullet hole and shrapnel damage to frames.
The finished vehicle would look similar to this other restored Class D - but would have a safety handrail around the top of the planking and have easy disabled access.
A drawing of the detail required for restoration/conversion.
A scale model of how our fully accessible carriage should look.
A sketch of the proposed replica "ammunition box" seating for the open carriage.
Drawing of extension and modification to existing station platform for accessibity.
A drawing showing extended platform and upgraded access paths to the station.
