Restored railway carriage emerges from paint shop

A team of 25 volunteers worked on the LNER Gresley teak carriage, the railway said.

A 1930s railway carriage has been rolled out of a paint shop after a 6,000-hour restoration project.

The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) said a team of 25 volunteers worked on the LNER Gresley teak carriage in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

It was built in 1934 and had undergone extensive repairs for the past two-and-a-half years, they added.

The final stage of the project will include the fitting of a set of bogies - the metal that links a train's body with the underside of the train - and braking and heating systems before it goes into service in the autumn.

SVR managing director Jonathan Dunster said it was "a credit to the team involved".

The work included repairs to the underframe, floor and roof, the replacement of all interior panels and the reupholstering all 64 seats.

The railway said some of the largest teak panels were beyond repair and had to be replaced with the railway's stock of spare panels because the cutting down of suitable mature trees in Asia was prohibited several years ago.

SVR runs trains between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth.