Heritage railway launches video to boost carriage shed appeal

Volunteers at Swanage Railway are trying to raise £65,000 so that building work can resume on a carriage storage shed for the heritage line.

The building is needed to protect historic carriages dating from the 1920s from the ravages of the weather - reducing maintenance costs.

Fundraisers hope to reach their target by June so that the steel structure of the £240,000 building can be ordered before being delivered to the site and constructed in November.

The Herston Carriage Shed Appeal has passed the £19,000 mark after being launched in March.

Work on the new carriage shed, east of Herston Halt, on the outskirts of Swanage began in January 2020, but had to stop two months later because of the first coronavirus lockdown.

Swanage Railway fundraising chairman Randy Coldham said: "A new fundraising video is part of our push to raise £65,000 by the end of June."

Swanage Railway engineering director Nathan Au said: "The building of our first carriage storage shed is a critical project because it will protect our heritage carriages."

The new Herston carriage shed will be 131 metres long and cover an area of more than 1,000 square metres.