As the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Corris Railway Society back in 1966 approaches, 2026 should see first class travel on the Mid Wales narrow gauge line available for the first time in nearly a century.
The volunteer carriage building team, working in the sheds at Maespoeth Junction, will have the latest new build coach, number 24 fully primed and ready for painting by the end of October. Recent work prior to that has been mainly completion of the vestibule panels and etched glass for the end of the first class compartment which has been created. Further drawings are being produced for outstanding parts.
The new vehicle will be the second of the new build carriage fleet to feature a clerestory roof and the ventilators for this feature have now been produced. This style of roof added a large amount of work to both the fabrication of the steel skeleton and the many timber capping sections that enclose the structure of number 24, but it means that along with the similar clerestory on number 22 and the elliptical roofs on numbers 20, 21 and 23 the modern day Corris trains have similar profiles to their pre-1930 counterparts.
The construction of numbers 22 to 24 has been funded by a Corris Railway Society member and carried out by the engineering volunteers.
First class travel was a feature of the CR from the official commencement of passenger services in 1883. The original steam hauled carriages were tramcar styled four wheelers which led to an interesting episode when the original bogie coach entered service. This was a third class vehicle but was such a more comfortable ride than the four wheeled first class offering that passengers who had paid the higher fare class regardless.
After the GWR withdrew passenger services after taking over the Corris in 1930 the withdrawn carriages were scrapped apart from two bodies which survived near Gobowen. One is restored and is in service on the Talyllyn Railway and the other resides in the Museum at Corris station. There are no plans to return it to service.