A Saloon that once formed part of the Western Region Royal Train is set to join the South Devon Railway's prestigious Devonshire Pullman dining train The carriage is owned by film producer Nick Dodson, of Railfilms Ltd, who has moved the carriage to Buckfastleigh after a period in storage at Okehampton. The coach is suffering from water damage and peeling paint, but is being restored to its former glory in the South Devon Railway's carriage and wagon workshops by the lines team of experts, spokesman Richard Elliott said this week. The coach, number 9005 by the Great Western Railway, was built in 1930 as a special saloon. It can be entirely self-contained, if necessary, having first class seating, a kitchen, toilet, store, and guards compartment. From time to time it served as part of the Royal Train in the days of British Railways and in 1954 is recorded as having run in a Royal Train to Abingdon hauled by locomotive 1420 which has been a long-term resident at Buckfastleigh and carriage 7377, another carriage that has been at Buckfastleigh since the late 1960s. The South Devon Railway is looking forward to recreating this train in the future. The restored saloon will join the South Devon Railway's other two 'super saloon' coaches, King George and Duchess of York to provide up to 60 seats in Orient Express style surroundings on the lines dining services, which run on set dates through the year or by private hire.
