When Carriage & Wagon became an MPD

2012 had begun.

We all wondered just how it would turn out and when our line would be joined up again. In the event it turned out to be an amazing and very heartwarming year.

Chicken Curve rebuilding was progressing well and would be completed. The Railway's appeal eventually achieved the one million pounds. Steam Railway magazine would be running one of their appeals in support and it turned out to be very successful with over £70,000 raised and their fastest response to an appeal yet.

Carriage & Wagon would receive a huge and very welcome surprise thanks to the Friends of Winchcombe Station and their extremely kind gesture with respect to Bill Ellesmere's Will, which meant that our longed for Paintshop would finally become a reality. We would also be holding another special fundraising Works Open Weekend in August, which would be even more successful than the two held in 2011, with the sheer numbers attending causing hurried last minute rearrangements for the guided tours. In the Autumn preparations for the building of the Bill Ellesmere extension to our Works would begin.

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And the locos would be back with us for a second year, so once again we would be the Railway's Motive Power Depot.

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By now we had become quite used to having the engines and loco staff with us. It was good to have them back, and at times it felt as though it had always been this way. Yet despite the familiarity, there was still something magical about getting to the Works early, opening up and signing in, and then walking through the Workshop to open the door to the Barn. Pull the bolt, gently ease open the metal door, and there was " Foremarke Hall". The warm smell of oil and bare hint of smoke was like a magnet. Walking past and looking up at the loco, with the warmth of the boiler still gently radiating, made a great start to the day. Then into the yard to see the other engines in the early light. It was like being transported back to the early 60s and shed visits. The big difference was that, unlike those far off days, all our locos were very clean!