A VICTORIAN train carriage, which has languished in a FIELD for nearly 100 years, is going up for auction - valued at a staggering £10,000.
The unit will be part of the Charterhouse auction on Friday, July 9.
“Over the decades I have seen the weird and the wonderful but never did I think I would be asked to look at train carriage in the middle of a field,” said auctioneer, Richard Bromell.
“Normally we are asked to sell model railways carriages so this is a first for me as an auctioneer in 36 years.”
The train carriage has been in the same ownership for well over 100 years. In the early 20th century the family were involved in road haulage and towed the carriage behind their traction engine for use as their living quarters.
After many years of travelling, the carriage was put in a field and covered up in a makeshift shed in about 1930.
Moving forward to the 21st century and a family member decided it was time to start clearing the land. A major task as brambles had grown all over the sheds and trees had grown up in between the makeshift buildings. It took three years removing the trees and cutting through the brambles along with removing decades of scrap metal and rubbish.
The owner remembered the carriage as a young boy being used as a store. In the 1980’s he recalled there was even a person who lived in the carriage when homeless.
When he finally unearthed to carriage again he asked local train enthusiasts around to look at it.
They identified the carriage as a Great Western Railway First Class carriage dating to circa 1855.
As a GWR First Class carriage it originally had servant quarters at either end with racks to store luggage on.
Moving forward some 165 years and the carriage is largely original, although it now requires major restoration, repair and conservation.
The roof survived as the family placed corrugated iron sheets on it the protect it.
Other parts however, have not survived so well. All the glass was smashed by vandals when it was unearthed, a fair amount of wood is rotten or missing and the floor is collapsing, but the bronze fittings remain in place such as the door handles stamped GWR SWINDON.
Now the carriage is the only item remaining in the field to be cleared.
The carriage is estimated at £5,000-£10,000 and is entered into the Charterhouse two-day sale on July 8 and 9 in Sherborne.
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