Help us save arguably one of the rarest items found in someone's garage over recent years!

The Llangollen Railway's Heritage Committee in North-East Wales has been successfully negotiating the acquisition of a historic horse-drawn dray from the turn of the last century. We now need your help to purchase and transport it back to the railway for public display and operation during special events.

It was among the property of a deceased gentleman who formerly worked at the Swindon railway works. The Great Western Railway horse dray was discovered in a domestic garage earlier this year in Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, having been stored there since the early 1960s.

Michael Portillo has already voiced his support for our project: “I am delighted to hear of the discovery and purchase of a very historic Great Western Railway horse-drawn dray soon to be brought to the Llangollen railway. It will make a spectacular addition to the heritage artefacts on display and will bring great pleasure to enthusiasts and visitors “.

Heritage Railway magazine recorded its discovery on their website: https://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/7640/swindon-works-horse-dray-found

Railway horse-drawn drays were used extensively in the early days of the railways, to bring goods to a railhead or take them away. Many thousands of these carts were built before the general advent of commercial motorised traffic.

This rare example was built by the Great Western Railway and bears the works No. 3314. It dates back to the turn of the 1900s.

The design was classified by the Great Western Railway as a “Trolley” and refers to the fact that there was no permanent seating arrangement for the drayman, as he was expected to sit on the load.​