The rail carriage has been removed from Wallsend's former Bogie Chain pub but it could return to the tracks on a heritage railway set to run from Alnmouth to Alnwick.
Housing is scheduled to be built on the former Bogie Chain and Railway Inn site, at Willington Quay, Wallsend. The Bogie Chain pub in Wallsend is set to be flattened to make way for homes .
A former British Rail carriage has been taken away from the derelict pub, where it was used as a dining area between the early 1990s and mid-2000s.
But it's good news for the Mark 1 carriage, as it has been delivered to Aln Valley railway, where the car will be renovated and could - possibly - become a bar and dining coach on a steam railway taking tourists from Alnmouth to Alnwick.
There is work to be done though. The carriage was built in York in 1957 and remained in operation until 1990, when it was moved to the Bogie Chain. A huge gap was cut into the side of the carriage and its toilets were removed, so it could serve as a dining area.
Roger Jermy, from Aln Valley Railway, said: "The coach will be the Aln Valley Railway's first ‘open’ coach; the others in passenger use at the Aln Valley Railway have side corridors. It opens up the possibility, after a full restoration, of use as a bar and a dining coach."
The It's full steam ahead for rejuvenation of old Northumberland railway line aims to re-establish the former branch line between Alnwick and Alnmouth, meaning tourists can hop off the East Coast Mainline from London and Edinburgh and take a picturesque steam train to Alnwick.
In March,a It's full steam ahead for rejuvenation of old Northumberland railway line for the first time since the branch line closed to passengers in 1966. Sections of the track are open for short steam locomotive trips on scheduled days.
Roger added: "The coach was very generously donated to the Aln Valley Railway by Steve Frith of Balliol Property Management and Development, of Shields Road, Newcastle. The Aln Valley Railway wishes to place on record its sincere thanks to Steve Frith and this company."
The Bogie Chain pub in Wallsend is set to be flattened to make way for homes
It's full steam ahead for rejuvenation of old Northumberland railway line
