Friday 30th May 2008 saw the first wagon arrive on the Helston Railway. British Railways built 20 ton brake van no B954673 was transported by road from Par Harbour to Trevarno.

The brake van has been purchased by the Helston Railway Diesel Group (HRDG) for use with their Ruston 0-4-0 shunt engines. Having been sold for scrap at St.Blazey depot by freight operating company 'English Welsh and Scottish Railway' (EWS), the brake van was made available for preservation by Henry Orchard and Son scrap merchant of St.Austell. With the HRDG having acquired the wagon from Henry Orchard and Son it was shunted from St.Blazey Depot by EWS class 66 locomotive no 66114 on May 28th to Par Harbour to provide easier road access. It was then collected by Moveright International on the morning of the 30th and arrived at Trevarno during the afternoon. The unloading process at Trevarno went smoothly thanks to improved access, a credit to the Helston Railway Preservation Society (HRPS) crew.

Below: The brake van at Trevarno having been unloaded from the lorry. Photo © Lester Rowell.

The wooden bodywork of the brake van is in a fairly poor condition after years of open storage at St.Blazey and will keep the HRDG volunteers busy!

The HRDG would like to thank:

Henry Orchard and Son Scrap Merchants of St.Austell for making the brake van available to the HRDG and helping to organise the move.

Freight company EWS for moving the brake van from St.Blazey to Par Harbour as part of their companies clay train!

Clay company IMERYS for allowing us to use Par Harbour for loading the brake van onto a lorry.

Andrew Goodman of Moveright International for the road movement.

and of course the HRPS volunteers for ensuring the site access was up to the required standard.