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On the 30th
September
2006 the Swanage Railway launched a Ł30,000 appeal to save and
repatriate a
historic “Devon Belle” Pullman Observation Car from San
Francisco in the USA.
The historic carriage was left there at the end of the famous North
American
Tour of the Flying Scotsman in the late 1960s. The
Transport Britain website fully supports
this important project and urges you to give as much support and
financial
assistance to it as you can.
The
Pullman carriage was
converted in 1947 into a luxurious Pullman Observation Car for use on
the
prestigious “Devon Belle” Pullman train from London Waterloo to Devon. The coach – officially known as Car 14 –
is one of
two vehicles converted by the Pullman Company at their Preston Park
works in Brighton
during 1947 with seating for 27 passengers and a bar for drinks
service. They
were rebuilt from earlier Pullman cars constructed on ex-London and
North
Western Railway underframes, they were converted for the ‘Devon Belle’
service
from Waterloo
to Ilfracombe.
After the
'Devon Belle'
service ended in 1954, the observation cars were used on charter
services,
ending up on the Scottish Region in 1961 on the lines between Inverness
and the
Kyle of Lochalsh and from Glasgow
to Oban.
After
withdrawal in 1967
with the end of steam, Devon Belle Pullman Observation Car “Car No 14”
went to North America as part of the
'Flying Scotsman’ tour train
of 1969. Travelling extensively around the USA
and Canada, the car
was
exhibited with the train at the 1970 Toronto
exhibition before ending up in San Francisco
where it remained after the locomotive was returned to the UK. It
has
remained there ever since, out of reach until now. While in San Francisco
until now it has fronted an
office building and been variously used as a café, conference room and
a store
over the last 30 years. But now its owners have no further use for it
and have
offered it to the Swanage Railway so that it may return home to the UK.
If this
campaign is
successful the historic coach will be repatriated to the Swanage
Railway and
fully restored to its original condition for use as an observation car
on the line
enabling the passengers to enjoy the beautiful Purbeck countryside from
the
comfort of a steam train. It is hoped
that this historic carriage will return to the UK in
early 2007. We are delighted to report that the historic carriage is
now on the way home to the UK. The carriage was loaded on board the
vessel "Taiko" at the Port of Long Beach on the 22nd January 2007 and
is due to arrive in Southampton Docks on the 18th February 2007. Once
back it will be sent to Derby for
restoration before moving to its permanent home at the Swanage Railway.
The
Swanage Railway has
previous experience of repatriating railway carriages from the USA.
In 2000 it
acquired the Pullman carriages Lydia
and Isle of Thanet from the National
Railroad Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin,
USA.
After they had been retired from BR service they had been sold to the National Railroad Museum
and were exported via the Flying Scotsman's North America Tour in 1969
to the
museum where they were put on static display. In 2000 the Swanage
Railway
purchased and repatriated them to the UK. These two Pullman
carriages also were in Sir Winston Churchill's funeral train in 1965.
They are
currently under restoration at Carnforth for eventual use as part of
the
Swanage Railway's Wessex Belle dining train. The railway also is
currently campaigning to return Sir Winston Churchill's funeral
carriage home to the UK from Los Angeles.
For further information about the Swanage Railway's "Devon Belle"
Pullman Observation Car Repatriation Project to
repatriate this historic railway carriage and how to make a donation
please
visit the following website:
Swanage Railway's Churchill Project Appeal
http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news322.htm
However
“Car No. 14” is not
the only “Devon Belle” Pullman Observation Car” that survives today, as
its
sister carriage “Car No. 13” also survives as it was preserved after
withdrawl from BR service in 1968 and today is used as an
observation car on
the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway in Devon. Hopefully
its sister observation car can now be repatriated from the USA to join
it in the UK.
Paignton
& Dartmouth
Steam Railway
www.paignton-steamrailway.co.uk
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