Dawlish News

Purchased for just £60 in 1930, the one-bedroom railway carriage, at Cockwood near Dawlish, is now being sold by formal tender and is expected to fetch somewhere between £215,000 and £260,000. The carriage has recently been restored and now boasts its original brown and cream Great Western Railway livery.

Julie Drake of Stags, who is the negotiator overseeing the sale, said there had already been a great deal of interest in the carriage which was built in 1897 by the Ashbury Railway Carriage & Iron Company.

The carriage ran along the Barry railway until 1922 when it was bought as rolling stock by the Great Western Railway. It sold at auction after being decommissioned in 1930 and has been at the Cockwood site for 73 years. It has mains drainage and electricity and enjoys views across the Exe Estuary.

The current owner Tony Rowe, who described the site as "a little piece of heaven", inherited the carriage five years ago from his father and has overseen the refurbishment, which was carried out by local craftsman Dougie Smith.

The closing date for bids for the property is 26 May.