WEST Somerset Railway has a very special visitor from a bygone era come for renovation work.
Pullman Car Lydia which was originally built in 1925 in Birmingham, and has quite a history.
Initially she was shipped to the continent and ran for three years between Milan and Nice.
During the 1930’s she was often used in the Imperial Airways service from Waterloo to Southampton to connect with the flying boat service to a range of Empire destinations.
In the Second World War she served in General Eisenhower’s special train, code-named ‘Bayonet’ as he toured southern England planning the D-Day landings.
Later in 1965 she was used in Winston Churchill’s funeral train, while in 1968 she toured the USA with famous locomotive the ‘Flying Scotsman’ which will be visiting the West Somerset Railway in 2017.
Lydia is a ‘Kitchen First’ car with 20 First Class seats, mostly arranged at tables for two.
WSR General Manager Paul Conibeare said: “Pullman Car Lydia is an amazing, opulent vehicle from another age.
"She is a breath-taking example of the coach builders art from the 1920’s including polished mahogany and wonderful inlaid marquetry.”
Discussions are underway to examine whether Lydia can be brought into traffic on the West Somerset Railway.
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