The Watercress Line in Hampshire welcomed four students from the Treloar’s College groundbreaking ‘Let Me In’ programme to their Ropley Station this month, as they returned to support the next stage in the development of the railway’s innovative Accessible Heritage Carriage Project.
Building on feedback from an earlier visit, students were invited to test the latest floorplan for Carriage No. 3063, which is being transformed into a fully accessible heritage events carriage. The project aims to create a welcoming and inclusive social space where everyone can enjoy the unique experience of travelling on a heritage railway.
Inside the carriage workshop, the proposed layout had been carefully marked out on the workshop floor, allowing students to navigate the space in their wheelchairs and test manoeuvrability, turning circles and access throughout the carriage. Their practical feedback provided insight into how the design performs in a real-world setting.
Beyond the floorplan itself, discussions with The Watercress Line’s Carriage Workshop staff and volunteers covered a range of important accessibility considerations, including the design of accessible toilet facilities, the space required for comfortable movement throughout the carriage, and the weight of powered wheelchairs – an important factor that will help inform the engineering and construction of the carriage floor.
Rebecca Dalley, Chief Executive Officer of The Watercress Line, said:
“This was a hugely rewarding and useful collaborative session that demonstrated how lived experience can directly influence heritage engineering. We wanted to ensure that accessibility is considered from the earliest stages of design.
“The feedback from the students is helping us create something truly special – not just an accessible carriage, but a welcoming social space where everyone can enjoy the magic of heritage rail travel together.
“It’s a huge investment to restore this wonderful 1955 First Class carriage into a space fit for today’s world, and the railway has to raise precious funds to make it happen.
“Projects like this can only succeed through genuine collaboration, and the feedback we have gained will have a lasting impact on the final design of Carriage 3063.”
The visit also gave students the opportunity to tour the engineering facilities at Ropley, see locomotives up close and witness railway operations, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how The Watercress Line preserves Britain’s railway heritage.
The Watercress Line is committed to making heritage rail travel more accessible, and the development of Carriage No. 3063 represents a significant step towards ensuring that more people can experience and enjoy the railway for years to come.
