Opening Hours Tue-Sat
12:00pm-5:30pm Swirl Right

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Our Carriages

Our Carriages

Being a lifelong “steamie” and collector of vintage vehicles, whilst on a business trip to India Michael was inspired by a restaurant and bar in a Colonial vintage train station.

Having already created the Bannold display gardens to showcase the stone and aggregate why not build a railway station?!?! He was offered the York stone platform from Oakham station and the journey began.

The vintage carriages were lovingly restored to a first class comfortable surrounding for you to visit and enjoy our seasonal menus. We use locally sourced produce and home-grown fruit & vegetables to make our handmade fancies and finger sandwiches.

Louis

We can seat up to 24 people in Louis on tables of 4 and 2 with plush high-back First-Class armchairs.

Louis (FO 3065) was built at Doncaster Works in 1955. It was built with 42 seats arranged with pairs of seats on one side of the corridor and a single on the other. Apart from offering First Class passengers a wider seat, it also aided with dinner service. By 1966, it was used exclusively in the Ocean Liner Express. It operated from London Victoria to Southampton for passengers sailing on the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth liners. These exclusive trains operated until the late 1970s.

This carriage formed part of the Royal Train carrying the body of the late Earl Mountbatten of Burma from Waterloo to Romsey on the 5th of September 1979. On this occasion Louis sat behind the Queens carriage and carried various dignitaries’ including King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, King Constance of Greece (in exile) and the Queen of Denmark.

In October 1982, Louis was purchased by the Mid Hants Heritage Railway for the Watercress Belle dining train. It was sold in 1998 and moved to the Hound Inn in Arlecdon near Whitehaven in Cumbria and used as a static restaurant.

FO S3065 arrived at Carriages of Cambridge in August 2013 where it received a full restoration and re-configuration to in-corporate a bar area.

The carriage was re-named Louis in honour of Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Oliver

We can seat up to 28 people in Oliver in 7 private compartments on tables of 4. We have three First-Class compartments fitted with dining chairs (£15 supplement charge) and we have four Pullman compartments fitted with plush high-back Pullman armchairs (£20 supplement charge).

Oliver (CK 15626) was built at Wolverton Works in 1957. It was originally fitted with 7 compartments each with 2 bench seats opposite and room for 3 people on each seat giving a totally capacity of 42 seats. From new, it was allocated to the London Midland Region of British Railways. However in early 1982 it was transferred to the Eastern Region and ran for around 5 years until its withdrawal in the autumn of 1985. It was bought for preservation by the Llangollen Railway and was used on this heritage line until bought by Carriages and moved to Fen Drayton in March 2010. The carriage was extensively restored, the bench seats being replaced with re-upholstered Pullman armchairs and First-Class dining armchairs.

The carriage was re-named Oliver in honour of Oliver Cromwell, the “Lord Protector” of the Commonwealth , who was born in Huntingdon in 1599.

Lancelot

We can seat up to 48 people in Lancelot on tables of 4 and 2. The tables can also be moved to make other formats, up to a long line of 40 people. This carriage is our wheelchair/buggy access carriage with a ramp.

Lancelot (Mark 1 SK 24458) was built in Swindon Works in 1954. It was built with 8 compartments with 2 bench seats opposite each other. The carriage was allocated to the Eastern Region of British Railways for the majority of its service on the national network. It was withdrawn from BR stock in 1982 and the following year was purchased by the Mid Hants Railway. By summer of 2002, it was at the Battlefield Line until eventually it was transferred to the Bluebell Railway in June 2007.

SK 24458 was purchased by Carriages, removing the compartments to make it open plan, reminiscing the First-Class dining cars of the era.

The carriage was re-named Lancelot in honour of Lancelot Capability Brown, the famous English landscape architect and known as “England’s Greatest Gardener”, who is buried in the Parish Church of Fenstanton.

Motor Parlour Car No.89 of the famous ‘Pullman Brighton Belle’.

We are excited to welcome former Motor Parlour Car No.89 of the famous ‘Pullman Brighton Belle’.

Car No.89 headed the Southern Railways inaugural Pullman service at 11am on the 1st of January 1933, running between London, Victoria and Brighton.
These Pullman Cars were seen as something special, with their Umber and Cream livery and exquisite interiors, boasting a contemporary style and sumptuous luxury, at the height of the art deco period. Passengers included Royalty, heads of state and the upper echelons of society. Giving nearly four decades of service, with the exception of the War years. Finally being withdrawn in 1972.
Car No.89 was purchased by Mr D Clay and transported by road to the Little Mill Inn, Rowarth, Derbyshire. The Car was used as a restaurant until 1985 then converted to three en-suite bedrooms, latterly, falling into disrepair. Purchased by Carriages of Cambridge in March 2023, where lengthy preparations began, to insure smooth removal and access for Allelys Heavy Haulage specialists to transport by road, arriving at Bannold’s Depot Thursday 9th June in readiness to be restored to its former glory to head, Carriages three, existing, Pullman style carriages.

How to find us

Capability Barns

Huntingdon Road,

Fen Drayton,

Cambridgeshire,

CB24 4SD