Grant success - August 12th 2011

The Woodhorn Narrow Gauge Railway Society is pleased to report that they have been successful in obtaining a grant of £5000.00 from the Community Chest Fund set up by Northumberland County Council.

The money will help the society to reach it’s goal to build and house a specially adapted carriage in which people of limited mobility and those in wheel chairs can enjoy the same pleasure of a trip on the railway around the south side of QE2 Lake as most people.
The present carriages are converted man carrying mine cars as used below ground in many of the north eastern pits and can only be used with standard passenger seating.

Over the past few months work has been undertaken to prepare the infrastructure for the carriage which has included building a new siding to hold the carriage, In addition, a new set of points has been installed and a basic carriage purchased on which modified seating and access can be built.

The project is aiming to be complete by the summer of 2012 so that the carriage can be in service to operate around the lakeside in the Jubilee year.

The Treasurer of the Society Ken Winship who has been a member since the Society was founded commented that, “ Now we can move forward to complete a task which was set by members many years ago.”